My Alternate Hero Academia
by bigdogneversleeps
Summary: In a parallel universe to the one we know, All for One didn't fight All Might at the same time he did before canon and this makes all the difference. (THIS STORY IS ON INDEFINITE HIATUS. LONG STORY SHORT, AUTHOR BECAME MORE INVESTED IN OTHER IDEAS. FEEL FREE TO STEAL ANY IDEAS YOU LIKE FROM STORY. APOLOGIZE FOR THE INCONVENIENCE)
1. The Quirk Man Cometh

Chapter One: The Quirkman Comeths

 _Izuku Midoriya was confused, to say the least. His dreams weren't usually endless black voids with a foggy floor._

 _No, this ten year old normally dreamt of things like Kacchan being nicer to him, or having closer friends than the lunch buddies or of meeting heroes and being a hero with some mighty quirk just like All Might had. It was colorful, it was happy, it wasn't so blah._

 _He knew it was a dream too, because where on Earth would you find a space like this? It seemed to go on forever, and he had no idea where the fog was coming from._

 _And then suddenly, he appeared._

 _A tall man in a black suit appeared in his dream, with slicked back hair and a smile that put the young boy on edge. He was walking confidently towards him, in a way that worried him. "Who are you?" Izuku managed to mutter out, slowly backing away from the advancing man._

" _I am not here to harm you, young boy. I have come to fix a wrong and help you." The man paused as he said this, trying to be charming._

" _Wrong? What do you mean?" Izuku didn't know what the man meant, he had never met him before. How could he help him?_

" _From birth, you have been unlucky. Cursed to live your days without the one thing the rest of us share. A growing anomaly in our society. To be born quirkless, what a shame."_

 _Izuku's eyes lit up in recognition. "The Quirk Man!" Indeed the man was famous in the news for what he was doing. Something that All Might had warned them about. "You are the guy All Might said steals quirks and is evil!"_

 _The man let out a soft laugh. "Oh dear, dear, it appears he has been spreading rumors. I don't know what All Might has been saying, but know I am not trying to steal your quirk. Rather, I want to give you one. How does that sound?"_

 _Izuku was confused. Give him a quirk? He remembered what All Might said though and shook his head. "No, no way. You stole that quirk from somebody, and I don't want it! You should give it back! Give them all back!"_

 _He let out a sigh. "Young man, I couldn't even if I wanted too. I have had some of these quirks for so long, their original owners died decades ago. Would you believe me if I said I got this quirk to enter dreams a century ago from an old man in the country? How do you expect me to give that back. No, it is much better that I keep these quirks alive, in me and in those like you who need one."_

 _Despite himself, Izuku was amazed. Had the Quirk Man really lived that long? It didn't matter to him. "You still took it! You are a bad man. All Might will stop you!" Izuku began to stand up to the man. They were just in a dream, so it wasn't like the man could do much to him. Probably._

 _The man's smile turned sour. "You sure do love your All Might, but doesn't he make you mad? That this man can have a fantastic power, while you get none?"_

 _Izuku stood his ground. "All Might is the best hero, so he should have the best power! And… and I don't care if I don't have a quirk. I'm...I'm …. I'm gonna be a hero, just like All Might!" Then he smiled._

 _All for One grew tired to this game. This child, this petulant child, refused his gifts so strongly all because of that man who was trying to ruin him. And he had a smile that was just like his. He didn't like it one bit. Here he was, sacrificing from his collection of powers gained over the centuries so he could seed the future for his successor Shigaraki. And this boy was trying to hinder him._

 _He had many quirks, more than a few taken on a whim or for a rainy day. There was one, decades old, that came to mind that had long outlived its usefulness for himself. But for this boy...it seemed like the perfect forbidden fruit. The exact thing that could turn him to seek out Shigaraki one day. A temptation that would bring him down roads that all led to him. His smile perked up again._

" _Well then, future hero, I hope you enjoy the quirk I bestow upon you in your endeavors."_

" _I said I don't want your stolen quirks!" Izuku raised his fists ready to defend himself._

" _Did you think I was going to give you a choice?" Izuku tried to sprint as All for One came towards him, but he easily caught up to the boy's pace. Grabbing him by the head, ignoring his struggles and cries against him, All for One plucked the quirk out of his soul and shoved it into the boy's. He would no doubt be hated by the boy but then again, with this quirk that was a good thing._

The youngest Midoriya woke up screaming. Things hurt. His head hurt. His muscles hurt. And his foot. His foot was in agony. He wished he didn't have a foot. His mother rushed in, scared at her son's outburst. Izuku couldn't calm down to explain, it just hurt so much. Quickly his mother left the room and through his own wails he heard her call for an ambulance.

The next ten minutes were of her best attempts to soothe him while he tried to get the pain to stop being so...painful. And luckily, it had begun to work. His head still felt like someone was using a jackhammer, and he wanted half of his foot to disappear, but he could think a little. And he could talk.

"M-mom."

"Yes Izuku! Do you what happened? How do you feel? Is it your heart? Your head? Your leg? Tell me Izuku!"

"Mom, the Quirk Man. He came to me last night."

His mom's eyes went wide. Of course she knew about him. Everyone did. The dream walker who was giving quirks to the quirkless. He would have been a modern Santa if All Might hadn't revealed how he got those quirks, and his evil past. Izuku would never know that for a moment, before everything was public, she wished for the man to visit her son, to let him reach his dream of herodom. But that thought was squashed when the truth came out. And after seeing the pain her son was in… she hoped All Might would get his hands on him soon.

"It's okay honey. It's okay. You can get through this"

"He-he made me take one. I said no, but he forced me." Another grunt of pain broke Izuku's attempt to calm down.

Inko began holding her son tight. "Shh, shh, it's okay honey. No one will blame you. It isn't your fault."

Izuku began to hug his mother back as he tried to control his urge to scream at his pains. "I-I don't like it. I know...I know I said I wanted to be strong but...but-but not if someone else is hurting!"

"I know, because you are a good boy Izuku. A good boy with a good heart."

"He...he makes me mad thinking all the things he did." He hugged his mother tighter as his mind wandered to the pain all those people felt.

Suddenly, his mother began to slap his arm. Looking towards her, she could she was in pain. Stopping his hug, he looked around to see what might have happened. Could the Quirk Man be back?

Inko caught her breath. "Izuku, I don't know what happened. But when you just hugged me, it seemed like you were gonna squeeze me in half! I think it might have been the quirk!"

He went silent, thinking to himself. He almost hurt his mom! Just cause of his quirk, he nearly hurt his mother. He cursed the Quirk Man, muttering apologies to his mother. He slammed his fist in anger on the side of his bed, mad at everything going on.

The wooden frame on that side made a loud crack as it broke and both boy and mother felt the bed become unstable. Quickly leaping up, Inko examined the damages and saw the bed had been broken on the side. It had been a sturdy bed frame she had just gotten him, there was no way it broke so easily.

Izuku was terrified. He nearly killed his mom, he broke his head, and his head still hurt and foot felt like it was on fire. What was going on?

Right on time the ambulance arrived, and they quickly took Izuku to the hospital. Once they heard what had happened, they took it very seriously and tried their best to help the scared boy and his mother to little avail. Once he got to the hospital he had some blood work done and was visited by a few doctors with specific medical quirks. Two police officers were there shortly after, to take a statement on what had happened and to make sure Izuku was alright. All the chaos had oddly relaxed Izuku, who felt less hopeless about his new burden and let him focus on willing the pain away that was leaving on its own slowly but surely. And, in spite of himself, he couldn't help but be curious. What was this quirk he now possessed?

…

"So, we ran some tests Ms. Midoriya and we have pinpointed what the quirk your son was given is. To put it simply, it allows the chemicals that are released by your brain when you feel angry to supercharge the muscles in your body to increase his strength, endurance, and durability."

The two Midoriya listened to the reveal in silence. It made sense considering what had happened. He had been angry and had gotten much stronger. But it was still a startling experience. It seemed so against character, that a nice gentle boy like Izuku was given such a violent quirk literally based around anger and hate. Then again, if they had more time to think about it, it made a twisted amount of sense considering how much the Quirk Man didn't like him.

"This is just a suggestion to put into the file based off of historical data, but we think the name "Anger Boost" best fits your quirk. I know this is sudden to ask Izuku, but does that sound alright?"

Izuku thought about this mismatched quirk he didn't want and could only nod. The name worked. Anger Boost. That was his power. The doctor kept talking to his mother, explaining about how the quirk adapting to his body created the pain from this morning. His pinkie toe bone fusing at the joint created the unimaginable pain he had been feeling, along with a few minor adjustments in the centers that created the chemicals Izuku used for the quirk. But he wasn't really listening. He was focusing on facts. The fact was, whether he liked it or not, he now had a quirk. A quirk that made him stronger the angrier he got. It seemed scary. It seemed dangerous, that if he didn't control his emotions he could hurt someone like he almost hurt his mom.

But it was a quirk. A strong quirk, from what he understood. And even if he got it from such an evil person, it didn't mean if it was a evil quirk. It was just a quirk. His quirk.

On the ride home from the hospital after a long day there, he made a declaration that he planned to keep.

"Mom, I promise to use my quirk for good! If I have to be angry to be a hero...then I'll be angry at all the bad things in the world! And I will fix them!"

Izuku Midoriya, the Anger based future hero, was here!

* * *

So this is the end of Chapter One! So the first few chapters are gonna be shorter like this, but expect more once I get past them. Not that these aren't important, but they are background for, you know, the UA stuff. And as my description suggests, this story is gonna be a lot different than canon in some aspects. All of the characters will be similar in personalities (but maybe not exact because of events) but there will be a few changes to them you will see. The big stuff is already being obvious, like All Might hasn't fought All for One like he did in pre-canon yet. And Izuku is now the Hulk. I am well aware of what I did, and I have no regrets.


	2. What is Strong?

Chapter Two: What is Strong?

Izuku ended up taking the next day off of school in order to recover emotionally from the event, and the next two days where normally scheduled days off, so Izuku ended up with three whole days to figure out what he was gonna do when he got back to class.

While he could tell everyone he had been sick, he wasn't sure how long he could hide his quirk from the class. Or if he should just get it over with and tell them up front. The Quirk Man wasn't some big secret after all, they knew it could happen. Someone had even joked about him getting a quirk from him a few weeks ago. But if they pushed him to show off his quirk, that would be hard. Unlike some people he knew, he wasn't a naturally angry person. And then it would look like he lied to them all, which probably wouldn't go over well with them. Especially Kacchan.

While Kacchan was a good person at heart, he was terrible at showing it and was a jerk to him. He liked calling him Deku and weakling after all, because he was quirkless. So if he tried saying he got a quirk, but couldn't show it? He knew that the boy would definitely show off his quirk on him.

And if he did show it, then what? Would things get better? Or would they still tease him for being forced to take a quirk, and try to get him angry so he would use his quirk?

Because right now, he could not control his quirk. If he was angry, he got stronger. That was that. He couldn't shut it off and on like most people could. That was a problem, because of a second thing he realized.

Anger wasn't just stuff like hate or being mad at someone. Simple stuff, like frustration or annoyed, could cause it too. Simple stuff like not getting the rice ball you made to hold together right or that you can beat a certain level in a video game could cause a boost in power. It didn't get him to super strength, but was like a strong adult man than some nerdy boy. The crack in his game controller and the kitchen drawer that didn't slide right anymore were proof of that. He didn't even realize that he had the power boost until he saw the results, which was concerning.

The time he tried to get mad, to get angry so he could use the quirk (just to see if he could easily pick up the couch), he felt the surge of anger flow through him. It took forever to charge up, but he felt it. But otherwise he didn't feel anything. He had a lot to learn about this new quirk, a lot he wanted to know before he could show it off. So he came to the conclusion that he would hide it until he could control it. Then he would tell everyone the truth about it and how he got it. That was what he told himself when he was going to school.

That worked until P.E. class.

It had been, of all things, basketball, that got him into trouble. His coordination had never been excellent, so he was already mediocre when it came to dribbling the ball. As for shooting, nobody in class could be called a good shot on the regulation sized hoops, but the streak he had of missing jumpshots was getting embarrassing.

The boys in his class who weren't involved in Kacchan's 3v3 game had seen his plight and had begun egging him on to try and make one. He made a layup, but they didn't say it was good enough. It had to be a jumpshot.

"Come on guys, don't make me hog the hoop." Izuku tried to use logic, they couldn't play if he was the only one shooting.

"Come on," One of the boys prodded, " if you can't do anything else, you can at least make a shot."

"Come on Midoriya, no one can be this bad at basketball." Another pried into him, getting Izuku to take another shot. CLANG!

"Twenty-Four!" Izuku got thrown back the ball by the person who got the rebound. This time it hit the side of the backboard and never touched the rim.

"Twenty-Five!" The boys chanted. Izuku was passed the ball again, and couldn't believe his luck. He wasn't this bad, was he? The next shot was a heartbreaker, as it rolled around the rim twice before falling off to the side. Izuku clenched his teeth. He was thrown the ball again.

"Twenty-Six!" Airball, it was brutal. He tried for such a high angle, and it whiffed. No one noticed how high the ball bounced when it hit the ground but just passed back to him when they ran it down.

"Twenty-Seven!" Dang it! Why did this always happen to him! He was folding under pressure

"Will he make it to thirty?" "Worst Shot Ever!" "He has to be doing it on purpose." They chatted to themselves as Izuku felt something rush through him. He didn't even think about his new quirk. He got the ball, and made a simple plan, Bank it off the back of the backboard and let it plop in. Dribble. Dribble. Shot.

SMASH!

Everyone froze. The ball limply fell through the net as everyone turned to the noise. The metal backboard had crumpled from the impact of the ball hitting it with such force.

"What the hell happened?"

"Who did it?"

"I thought I told you no using your quirk in class!"

The most poignant question, that everyone heard loud and clear, was when one of the guys picking on him asked, "Midoriya, how did you do that?"

…

He had been sent to the principal for damaging school equipment, where he had been forced to reveal his quirk to the man. A call to his mother and e-mail of the medical report confirmed what he was saying was true. With that cleared up, the administration proved understanding of the circumstances but firmly reminded Izuku he need to work on controlling his temper if this was the case. He already knew that, but he was happy to hear they weren't gonna charge his mom for repairs. By the time they were done in the office, the school day had ended. But Izuku wasn't allowed to leave in peace. Most of his class were waiting around for him, with Kacchan leading the pack. He knew what was coming, and didn't wanna deal with it. He also knew he wasn't going to have a say in the matter.

Weakly walking up to the gathering of classmates, Izuku didn't bother looking directly at Kacchan. He just waited for him to begin the conversation.

"So Deku, I heard what about happened in the gym. Wanna tell us how the hell you did that? You're a weakling, and you almost put a basketball through a backboard? What gives?" Bakugou cracked his knuckles, their classmates muttering behind him in agreement and saying similar things.

Izuku took a gulp and tried to calm his nerves. "L-last week, when I w-was out sick… I wasn't really sick. I was re-recovering." He stuttered his lines, his attempt having failed.

Being prompted by some of his classmates question of 'from what?', Izuku continued. "I-I got visited by the Quirk Man."

Gasps came over the crowd of students. They all knew who he was, and how he was supposedly giving quirks to quirkless people.

Izuku heard the murmurs, and noticed Bakugou getting even more on edge, so he just continued. "I didn't… I didn't want the quirk. He stole it from s-someone else. B-but he forced me to take it. It r-really hurt so I had to go to the hospital."

Bakugou listened to his longtime classmate and seemed to contemplate what he said. "So Deku, what is your shitty quirk called." The rest of the class seemed interested in this as well. None of them knew anybody who was given a quirk, and had been too young to remember much about when others had gotten their quirks.

"The doctor's call it "Anger Boost". It basically uses the chemicals that make you mad and angry to make me super tough and strong. So, uh, ya know, the madder and stuff I get the stronger and tougher I become."

"So you got mad at not being able to make a shot, and did that in gym?" One of his earlier harassers asked?

Izuku shrugged. "And you didn't let me stop so that got me...mad I guess." It was so awkward. So many eyes on him, all about something he couldn't handle yet. Chatter erupted and he was hearing it all.

"So Izuku has a quirk, huh?"

"It figures the Quirk Man would get him."

"Izuku is such a pushover, it's a bad quirk."

"This quirk makes me ya know, not wanna mess with him."

"Kinda sounds like a villian quirk."

"My uncle told me about an old comic character like that."

"Sounds like a perfect quirk for Bakugou."

"Don't piss him off then, huh?"

"That quirk seems like it'd be perfect for a bad guy though."

"Everyone picks on him, seems like the backstory of a villain doesn't it?"

"That's a bad guy quirk if I have heard one."

He had enough. So many people were saying things about it that he couldn't accept about him.

"H-hey, don't talk about me like that. This quirk… I don't care what it seems like. I'm going to be a hero, and the best hero that there is! Just like All Might!"

"Whatever, shitty Deku. Even if you become a hero, you'll just be a weakling." Kacchan sent him crashing down to Earth.

Izuku glared at Kacchan. He was on edge, and didn't like what he was saying. "I don't care what you think. I'm gonna be the best hero in the world, it doesn't matter what my quirk does!"

Bakugou just laughed. "First off, I'm gonna be the best. Secondly, I don't care what you think. You are a weakling, no matter what your quirk lets you do."

His backbone was on display today, as Izuku countered back. "You don't get to decide that, Kacchan."

"I'm not deciding it, it's a fact of life. I'm the best, and you Deku are a weakling." Kacchan wasn't backing down on his argument.

"Oh, Bakugou, you might wanna back off. You might make him angry."

"Yeah, I bet he doesn't know his own strength."

"He is definitely gonna use the quirk on you."

Voices in the crowd tried to warn Bakugou, but he ignored them. He was just glaring him down.

"I'm not gonna fight anyone. I just...I just wanna go home." Deciding that continuing this wasn't in his best interests and began to walk away. To the surprise of everyone, Bakugou did nothing to stop him.

So Izuku was surprised when, a few blocks away from his place, he ran into him again. He had taken a longer route home in order to think, and it seemed like this was something the boy had set up. He was standing next to a light post with his arms crossed, staring him down. He couldn't avoid him so he just decided to try and walk on by. Kacchan didn't try and stop him but he did speak up.

"I just want you to remember, Deku, I mean what I say. You are a weakling. It doesn't matter if you have a quirk or not. That is just who you are. Deal with it."

Izuku clenched his fist. He then unclenched it, knowing he couldn't get angry at him. It wouldn't help matters. "I don't care what you think Kacchan. I'm gonna be a hero, the best hero I can be. I can't let stuff you call me stop that." He was amazed how well he was holding his own against his long term classmate.

"Clean out your ears, ya dweeb. I never said you can't be a hero. You'll just be a shitty one, cause you're a weakling. I hate it that you think you can be the best, because you can't."

"Because you think you will be?"

"Because I know I will be, first off Deku. And secondly, as long as you keep choosing to be a weakling, you'll never be anything you pretend to be. So I don't care about your shitty quirk, or whatever puny ideas you have. Just remember to stay outta my way." Bakugou left, seeming to have gotten his message across.

One that confused Izuku. That seemed totally unneeded, he had made his viewpoints pretty clear in the past and at school. But the bigger thing that stayed on Izuku's mind was something he had said. About choosing to be a weakling. What did he mean choose to be one? Why would he choose to be weak? So what, did he think he could choose to be strong?

Was Kacchan telling him something here? Was he...trying to help?

What did he mean by strong? Like physically strong? He was never impressive athletically, something that had been pointed out often. Did he mean he had to get stronger like that? Or did he mean like...get stronger emotionally?

He was awkward, and could stutter, and didn't like dealing with large groups of people and didn't make friends well, and cried a lot.

Izuku suddenly understood Kacchan so much better. He might not have agreed on some of the things he thought, but things clicked. Kacchan didn't think he was strong, that he was a weakling. And that he didn't even try to be strong. Kacchan was strong, so why should he like some person who didn't even try to be strong?

Over dinner, he asked his mom if they could order some weights for him to use. And that night, he set his alarm clock to thirty minutes earlier so he could exercise in the morning. And he promised himself he wouldn't stutter once tomorrow.

Izuku was going to prove Kacchan wrong. He was going to be strong, and he was going to be a great hero!

Once he figured out how to control his quirk. He had time though. He didn't have to worry about getting into his dream high school, U.A. for four years. And by then...he would be strong.

* * *

So surprise, quick update. Don't expect this too often. I'm just on a roll. So again, more setup, more Izuku working on himself and Bakugou getting some characterization on my part that makes him...a bit better and less jerky? I don't have his hero name yet (I doubt it's gonna be Deku though). Going to throw a wrench into the universe next chapter though, so look forward to that. Have a good one!


	3. Into the New World

Chapter 3: Into the New World

Izuku had stumbled in his regiment. There were a few times where he hit the snooze alarm. A few times where he didn't do half the sets he had done the day before. A few times where he lets his weaknesses to the forefront of his personality. But he had repaid those lapses in judgement with more exercise, less closed off to the world. And now, months after getting his quirk, he realized that he was becoming stronger. It seemed like Kacchan had a point.

Now if his childhood friend would notice it would make his life easier, but he couldn't expect miracles.

But it was the Christmas season, so he could hope, couldn't he?

As for the quirk part of his life… things had gotten easier at school. It turned out that a lot of people literally only messed with him since he had no quirk. Or they were scared he would get angry at them and knock their lights out with an Anger Boosted punch if they tried. Like Kazuki did for insulting his mom to purposely make him angry.

He had gotten suspended 3 days for that one. He made sure to apologize profusely, and he got lucky the parents knew their son could be a bully. Or else it could have made a headache for his mother.

As for the quirk itself, he still had no idea about its limits. He wasn't the sort of person to get angry, so he was unable to test it's full potential. But from he could do he knew he got ridiculously strong. He could break a cinder block by just slapping it, could jump up and land on the second story railing, and could take a baseball bat to the chest with no problem. That last one may not really count since it was a very understanding neighbor who probably didn't use their full strength when they swung it, but still. The downfall was how hard it was to think straight when he made himself that angry. Thinking about personal injustices, made up ones, and all the bad occuring in the world didn't leave much room for planning and strategy. It was something he had to fix.

And the problems of frustration and annoyance were static. While he was better able to control his strength, his training had made him stronger which meant even though he was controlling a good portion of his strength, he still had the same sort of power he did when he first got it. A troublesome dilemma to say the least.

But all in all, it was a good year. As he put his head on his pillow Christmas Eve, he couldn't think of one thing he wanted as a gift that year.

The gusts of wind that rattled the apartment building woke him up however. Along with the evacuation order. No one knew what was going on. Everyone felt something in the air, but had no idea what it was. They just ran to the underground shelters the city pushed them too.

"Mom, what is going on?" Izuku asked as they huddled on a bench, kept awake by the artificial glow.

"Honey, I'm not sure. I heard there is a big hero battle going on but… that seemed more like an act of nature than a quirk." She honestly told him back.

It was only at dawn where they allowed to leave the shelter, the chaos of Christmas Eve coming to a halt, and a few days passed before the story became clear. The headlines told it all.

" **THE QUIRK MAN" ALL FOR ONE PERISHES AFTER FIGHT WITH ALL MIGHT, LEAVING THE NUMBER ONE HERO IN CRITICAL CONDITION**

 **Thirty Four Casualties at the Scene, Including Hero Ectoplasm**

After months of hunting down the "The Quirk Man" All for One, All Might had finally tracked his location and had received the assistance of multiple pro heroes who wanted to stop the villain once and for all. The history of All for One became far more public, with his decades of crimes becoming known, the details of which horrified professional heroes around the country. While All Might had planned on just capturing All for One considering the urban surroundings, the villain had decided to put up a fight which escalated into the landscape altering battle that would go into lore. The team with All Might tried their best to evacuate the area, but obviously not all could be saved. The fight grew in scope the longer it lasted, from a battle of good and evil to a battle for their very lives. A battle only one could escape.

And fortunately for the world, the one that escaped was their hero. Not that he was in good shape from the battle. All the reports came that he had to be rushed to the hospital, with no one knowing what would become of the Symbol of Peace.

His retirement a few weeks into the new year was shocking, but not wholly unexpected after the fight. While no one had seen him since the battle, everyone took the news as well as one could hope. Many people saw it as poetic, that a great evil could only be stopped by sacrificing a great good. Many people, like Izuku Midoriya, didn't see that way at all and cried at the loss of their idol.

But this did not stop Midoriya. In fact, it strengthened his resolve. The world needed a new number one hero, a new Symbol of Peace. And, no offense to Endeavor, but he was no All Might. He swore he would fill that role. No matter how many times he stumbled on his way to become strong and to become a better hero, he would not fall until he climbed his way to the top. This was something Izuku promised himself.

…

More than a year had passed since the retirement of All Might, and Izuku was finally entering middle school. Which meant three more years until he could fully start his road to become a hero, by joining U.A. He couldn't wait.

He enjoyed the spring weather as he walked to his new school that was nearby, still getting used to his new uniform he was wearing. He was also enjoying that this would be a new start for him.

While yes, most of his class would be going to the same school as him, a lot of other kids from other nearby primary schools were heading here as well. While there had been 80 or so kids in his grade last year, this school would boast 210 students in his grade. It meant that maybe a third of the class might know him from reputation and a fraction of that would know him as a classmate. It meant the past could stay there. Depending on who was in the class as well.

In fact, he saw someone in the same uniform as him that he didn't recognize. Based on the color of the collar, he would be a first year like himself. Nothing tried, nothing gained.

"You going to Aldera too huh?" He jogged to catch up to the boy who had been going along listlessly.

It seemed to startle the boy, who looked around to see where the voice had come from. When he noticed Izuku, he only nodded. "Yeah. You a first year too?"

Izuku nodded, quickly looking over the boy. Judging from his hairstyle, as in his hair was a pile of stones, he assumed his quirk was some sort of fortification or transformation quirk. Of course, he wasn't going to judge him for that. It was just his thing to figure that out. "Yeah, I'm Izuku Midoriya."

"Mine's Takeshi Golonya. I'm coming from Isamu Primary. How about you?"

"Oh, I went to Aldera Primary. But isn't it a little far from Isamu, to come here?" Izuku knew that was a good distance away and was concerned for this new person

Takeshi shrugged. "They still haven't fixed the old Isamu Junior High building after Christmas Showdown, so we all had to travel a bit. I mean, those of us who were able to keep going there."

Izuku realized that made sense. That part of the city had been pretty much the epicenter of the All Might vs All for One fight, aka the Christmas Showdown. Quite a few homes were destroyed and building ruined. It was kind of surprising that the building hadn't been fixed by now but he guessed the government must have been busy. "Oh, wow. That is troublesome. I didn't mean to bring up any old issues…"

Takeshi shrugged. "It is what it is." He looked ahead to see they were coming around the final corner to the cool. "So yeah, I was actually gonna meet a few of my friends who are going here with me so…"

Izuku knew not to press. Most friendships were slow, and he didn't want to look pushy. "Yeah, no problem. See you around Golonya. Who knows, we might be in the same class?" He replied with a shrug.

Takeshi nodded, happy this new guy wasn't going to make it weird. "Maybe, see ya later Midoriya." Takeshi waved him off as he began to jog around the corner to meet up with his buddies.

Midoriya let out a sigh. Trying to naturally deal with people like that wasn't easy but he could do it. Especially since it was a one-on-one thing. It was the stuff like this that helped him know he was becoming stronger, someone that had to be respected.

He kept up a smiling face as he made his way to room 1-C, where half of the class had arrived. Quickly he looked around the room, noticing interesting people with interesting quirks and if he knew anyone.

No surprise, Kacchan was there looking irritable. As much as he disliked his childhood friend attitude at times, fate seemed to make them inseparable.

He also noticed Takeshi, but he was talking with friends so he wasn't gonna say anything to interrupt that.

There was a girl with long blue hair that she could definitely control, which seemed cool. Maybe like as a shield or a whip? That guy had teeth that could probably take a bite out of cement, which seemed like an interesting quirk. Then there was a girl who looked like she was supposed to be there… if her body wasn't the size of a first grader's. Her 'hair' too was unique, a deep purple forming three balls on each side of her head. He wondered if that was her quirk or what. Finally, there was the guy was obviously tallest in the class, with silver hair and wearing a mask that covered his face and neck. His quirk seemed obvious, as instead of the normal two arms he had six, webbed together. Though on closer observation, he noticed that the four back arms didn't have hands. They had elbow joints and seemed to move independently, but no hands. He was really curious about that. He took a seat that was out of Kacchan's line of sight behind the tall guy and waited for homeroom to start.

…

After homeroom and orientation, the day ended pretty quickly. He had gotten to know the names of his classmates, and a bit more of their personalities. The two that stood out was the purple haired girl, Minori Mineta; and the tall guy Mezo Shoji. Mineta was very direct and seemed very interested in guys. It would be off-putting if anyone could take the pintsize girl seriously. But as of now, she seemed harmless. As for Shoji, he seemed pretty cool. He looked like a real hardass, but was really nice and tolerant. It was obvious that Mineta had a thing for Shoji because of his size and muscles, but Shoji didn't really judge her and didn't mind having her hover around him. Seeing how nice he was, Izuku knew he could be a good person to befriend. So he quickly caught up with Shoji as they were leaving the schoolyard.

"Hey, hey Shoji, hold on." Izuku called out, trying to catch his attention.

Shoji stopped, looking a little surprised it was the green haired boy from class calling out to him. "Yes...Midoriya." It took him a second to remember his name.

"Oh, yeah, well uh, you seemed pretty cool in class. So, ya know, I kinda wanted to get to know you better."

"Know me better?" Shoji was a bit surprised. His eyes narrowed at Izuku. "What do you mean?" He asked inquisitively.

Izuku was a bit embarrassed by the blunt questioning, but he was honest to his taller classmate. "Well, you seem like would be a cool friend so...yeah."

Shoji eyes relaxed, seeing what was obvious. Izuku just wanted to be his friend. He didn't know anyone so it wasn't the worst idea. Behind his mask he smiled. "That sounds like a good idea, Midoriya. You too seem like a nice person...though it was odd to see that Bakugou guy call you a 'useless Deku'." He led Izuku on to explain, which he did.

"Oh yeah Kacchan...we go way back. We used to be friends when we were little but when he got his quirk and I didn't he...kinda got meaner. He isn't a bad guy but… he has an inflated ego. Yeah…"

"You didn't get a quirk. So you're quirkless?" Shoji asked neutrally, as one would ask any other question.

Izuku face froze, not meaning to spill that tidbit of info. He had been planning on pretending his quirk was natural, but it looked like the cat was out of the bag. "Uh, I mean...no. I'm not.. I mean...it's complicated."

"Complicated?" Shoji asked.

He knew he had two routes he could go. It seemed like Shoji could just accept his excuse of it being complicated and leave it at that, so it was tempting. But Shoji was quickly showing himself to be a good guy, someone that could be a great friend. Was it so bad to tell him the truth? IT wasn't like it was some big secret.

"I… should be quirkless. But about two years ago I got… forced one by All for One." Now that everyone knew his name no one used the childish moniker he had gone by. All Might sacrifice was too great to disrespect his opponent that much.

Shoji eyes widened, a bit surprised he was actually meeting one of the "Quirked", the group of upwards of one hundred affected by All for One's mysterious plans. Once the public knew of the totals and what that meant, of how many quirks the villain had stolen over the decades, his name went from obscurity to legend. "Oh that must have been...difficult." He knew by Midoriya use of the word 'forced' it was a pleasant experience. "If you don't mind, what quirk did he give you?"

Izuku gave a smile, thankful of the understanding Shoji was showing. "I really don't. It is called Anger Boost. It makes me stronger and more durable the angrier I get. It can be really hard to control, and I have hurt people by accident from it. I think that is why he gave it to me, because it can be a quirk used for villains really easily. I think he tried to tempt me or something… I think about it often. But I don't care. I don't care what quirk he gave me, I am gonna use it to become a hero. A hero just like All Might, who can save everyone with a smile on my face." His monologue ended up growing to a near yell, attracting some attention by nearby people. Izuku couldn't help but curl into a ball of cringe when he realize what happened.

Shoji let out a soft chuckle. Not to mock Midoriya or anything, but astonishment for his passion. It was something he could respect. "I like your kind of thinking, Midoriya." Putting his arms out, he formed a mouth on one of the nubs of his other arms. It startled Izuku, but not too badly. " My quirk is Dupli-Arms, which lets me create duplicate of body parts that I can use as needed. It also has given me a body far more powerful than I have worked for." Izuku was a little unnerved that the mouth on his arm was clearly talking, but he didn't say anything about it. "Sometimes it doesn't feel like my quirk is that strong, that it isn't good enough to be the hero I want to be. But then, I remember that I shouldn't force my quirk to hold that burden. It should be me, making myself good enough to be the hero I want to be. It is why I came from Okawa to be here."

Izuku took a minute to place where Okawa was, until his eyes went wide. "Isn't Okawa on Kyushu Island? Isn't that like a thousand kilometers away from here!" He couldn't help but be impressed by Shoji's dedication.

"Indeed it is. But after hearing about All Might's retirement...I knew I couldn't slack off. I had to be the best, and go to the best hero school in the country. And that is located here, in Musutafu. I was lucky, my father was able to transfer to his job's Tokyo branch." Shoji looked off in the distance, to the western part of the city.

Izuku knew what he was alluding to. He had the same dreams. "You know, me and Kacchan both plan on getting into U.A. too. It would be pretty hard, for one class to have that many heroes coming from it." He couldn't help but be realistic.

"But not impossible." Shoji countered, again the mask behind his face smiling.

Izuku saw that and couldn't help but smile too. "Yeah, not impossible."

The duo departed soon after, as Shoji had to catch the subway to get to his home. But both realized they had become friends that day.

* * *

So, yeah, I changed a bunch of things. So first off, I did totally up end established canon. But I have a plan. Probably. As for some people disagreeing about what happened to All For One, you aren't the only people who would. Even All Might could have a say about it… when he appears in a few chapters. And yes, I did gender flip Mineta. It just works better. Seriously, go to YT and google female Mineta. There is a video that proves my point. Is it sexist? Probably. But it also creates better balance in the class 1-A gender wise. Have a good one!


	4. Becoming the Hero

Chapter Four: Becoming the Hero

It was an odd experience for Izuku. He had a friend. A true and proper friend for the first time in forever. Bakugou had seen fit to ruin that in primary school, but now in junior high things were different.

He tried to get along with Kacchan, but he was still as hostile as ever. He could chat with Takeshi and even eat lunch with the rock headed boy, but they were friends in the loosest definition of the word. Heck, even the only girl he regularly interacted with he tolerated her peculiarities because of his true friend. Because of Mezo Shoji.

Shoji wasn't a guy who you talked with for hours, but neither was Midoriya. But they were people who you could trust, and be open with. And that is what made their friendship work. They didn't have to try and be friends, they just were. And when they did hang out, it varied from activities he loved (watching hero battles) to things Shoji loved (he was a surprisingly big eater) to things they both enjoyed (working out). They also helped each other with their quirks. Shoji would help Izuku become angry and test with anger boost, while he would get Shoji used to quickly creating body parts and using them to the best of his abilities. They both planned on getting to U.A. and they helped each other however they could. And while neither had actually gone to the other person's home yet, it was definitely something they were planning during vacation.

Which led to the end of semester exams, which they knew they had to do well on in order to get to U.A. And in school, neither one was slacking. In a class of thirty, Izuku came second on the first finals of the year, while Shoji came in a solid eighth. Of course, Bakugou came first and surprisingly, Mineta came in fifth. She did try to use here slightly superior grades as a means to have 'study sessions' with Shoji outside of class, but they were rejected for a few group sessions with all of them, including Takeshi and his buddies. All in all, everything was going good in Izuku's life. On the next to last day of the semester, however, something big happened.

"Help! Mommy, I can't unstick! I can't unstick!"

Izuku was alone today as Shoji had other plans. Mineta had managed to worm a 'review' out of the too kind hearted Shoji, meaning the two of them were staying after school in the library to see what they did wrong on the finals. So he was one of the few bystanders who saw this little girl, no older than 5, desperately trying to pull herself from the ground she seemed to be stuck too. It was clear she didn't have control of her quirk, so she was panicking. Her mother was in hysterics, trying to pull her daughter out of the road to no help. In fact, the kid began crying as she began to scream it hurt.

And there was a clueless driver coming right at them.

Izuku moved before his brain had the time to think. He rushed into the street, trying to figure out how he could get angry enough to help. He knew he wouldn't have much time, so he had to make a plan. He had to force the car to a full stop, or else the skidding car could still run the girl over. He could take the brunt of the hit, but she could still get hurt. He could rip her off the road, but he doubted he would be strong enough. It might also severely damage her skin.

And what about the driver? If he forced the car to stop, the driver could get seriously hurt. He could run into the car, but then other people would be put in danger. And if he tried to use himself as cover for the girl, it wouldn't stop the driver from feeling guilty for running someone over.

There was no good plan. He wasn't strong enough. He couldn't save the day. This girl, or the driver, or both of them, would end up in a bad way. He was going to fail them. He was going to fail at being the hero. He was going to let them get hurt.

It made him furious as hell, thinking of how he would fail them.

The plan came together as he reached the girl and car a mere ten feet away from each other. The driver was trying to slow down, but was far too late to stop this. It was up to him. He had come in low, running with his chest near the ground. That was so the second the car was in position, he could reach under the front bumper and axel near the car wheel. And then he flipped the car into the air over them both.

The crowd awwed as the car flipped with impressive height over both the boy who ran in and the still stuck girl. But it wasn't over yet. Izuku knew if he let the car land as it would, it would crash onto the front bumper and still hurt the driver bad. So as soon as the car cleared his head he was moving again, putting his body in position.

Just as the car dove into the ground, Izuku reached up and grabbed the back axle of the car in order to level it while using his other shoulder to take the impact of the car. His knees bent as the car's momentum slammed into him, but he did not crumble.

He had done it, he had saved them both without getting hurt. And now he had a car sitting on his shoulders. His anger quickly began to leave him, forcing him to adapt quickly. He did his best to slow the momentum of the car dropping to the ground, getting stuck under it as the car's tires hit the pavement with a soft thump.

The crowd began to cheer and swarm the car. Some were making sure the driver was okay, along with the passenger that Izuku never noticed, while others were checking under the car to make sure the hero was alright. They were quick to drag him out, making sure he hadn't hurt himself. He was surprised to see he was okay. At best, he thought his shoulder would have been hurt by the car slamming on to it, but it was just a little sore. Between praise for his bravery and ingenuity, and some questioning how safe that stunt was, it was an overload of information.

"Mistah Madman, thank you!" The girl who had finally freed herself from her quirk was now standing and glued herself to his leg in a hug.

It snapped him back into reality, and he did the only thing he could think of doing. "It was no problem at all." He told her, patting her head in comfort. Wait a second. "Mr. Madman?"

She could only nod her head. "Yeah, you looked super mad when you flipped and caught the car. But it's okay Mistah Madman, you can be happy now. I'm ok."

Izuku couldn't but look to the crowd, confirming the girl's story of how he looked. The crowd seemed to nod in agreement. It was obvious to him what he had to do next.

Giving his best smile, he told her, "I am happy. Happy that you are safe."

The next few hours were a blur. The driver and their passenger were okay, along with their car. Flipping in the air had been unnerving, but much better than the alternative. It had been such a quick situation no one had called the police nor any other heroes showed up. It was a bang-bang situation that meant Izuku was just able to leave shortly after dusting himself off. The mother had wanted to give him something as thanks, but Izuku kindly rejected, simply telling the girl to be safer next time crossing the road. After an adorable, "Okay, Mr. Madman, thank you again!", Izuku was left to his own devices to go home where he had to explain to his mother what had happened to his school uniform. She had freaked out, but was proud of him for being a hero to a little girl.

The next thing he knew, Shoji was messaging him.

 _You know someone caught it on video._

Izuku couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. Seriously? Someone taped that.

 **Really?** He couldn't help but text back.

 _Yeah, Mineta found it when her mom called._

That one confused him. **Why did her mom call?**

 _Because the kid you saved was Mineta's little sis_

That actually made a lot of sense. Now that he thought about it, the mom's hair was purple just like Mineta, the girl kinda looked like her, and being sticky was similar quirks.

 **Wow, small world. What is it called?** He wanted to see it for himself.

 _Some vlogger caught it. Vid called Middle School saves kid's life. Here's the link._

Izuku watched what had happened. It was both how he remembered doing it, and totally foreign. The anger on his face was concerning to watch, but it did tell him that he had grown a lot with his quirk. He wasn't 100% sure why it worked so well, between the mental clarity and the immense strength needed, but it was comforting he was improving. It also showed the girl thanking him at the end, calling him which explained the title. It seemed to be a rough cut, no edits. The description explained the guy posted it as quick as he could so he could get the views, which was growing. Almost 10,000 in about two hours.

 **That was...weird watching myself**

 _But you did look cool doing that. Thinking about the driver's safety...really smart_

 **I mean, you have to as a hero, right?**

 _I agree...Mr. Madman._

Izuku blushed. **Just cause the girl called me it…**

 _All the comments like it too. Said you looked like a madman._

 _That was also the plan of a madman. Flipping a car and catching it on your shoulders?_

 _Absolute Madman_

 **It sounds like a villain's name**

 _Fits your quirk though._

 _Make it yours, sounds different. Maybe drop the mister._

 **So just Madman?**

 _It might be crazy enough to work._

The chat went onto what happened with Shoji and Mineta. Mineta had been flirting, but Shoji couldn't take it seriously. Between her child-like size and open gawking at other guy's looks, he just took it as Mineta being Mineta. Izuku couldn't help but feel maybe there was more to it, but it wasn't that big of a deal. Plans were made to see each other over the summer, and Izuku readied himself for an interesting last day of the semester. He was pretty sure a lot of his class would see the video, he was just wondering how they would take it.

On the walk to school, it seemed like quite a few people recognized him. They didn't say much, beside thanking him for saving the kid or telling him simple stuff like, "Nice job, kid", but it was really cool to here, in his mind.

The hallways in school went to the next level, as it ranged from upperclassman giving him kudos with fistbumps to girls whispering in their groups, wondering if he was really the person in the video. He was getting far more positive attention than he expected. He couldn't help but attribute it to everyone being in a good mood that the semester was almost over.

What really threw him for a loop was when he came to a classroom full of applause. Mineta moved from her desk, where a group had gathered, dropped a sticky ball on the next desk she jumped too and bounced off of it towards Izuku ready to give a hug.

"Midoriya you hero!" She yelled as she wrapped around him with a hug. "Megumi has been bragging about the Madman who saved her all night." She hugged him tighter. "Thank you, thank you." Feeling her tears on his shirt, she knew how sincere was being. It was still stupidly awkward, a girl was crying on him and hugging him but he at least had an idea what to do. Politely he patted her on the back. "Uh, no problem Mineta. I was just doing what I had too."

Wiping her tears, Mineta looked up at him. "It is a problem. If Megumi knew how to control her sticky sweat, you wouldn't have had to put yourself in danger."

In the background, Bakugou had enough. "Well, what the hell do you expect of a kid, Baby Body? And if fucking Deku wants to play hero, let him try and play." Bakugou sneered. "He got lucky anyway. The car should have splatted you like the weakling you are."

"He isn't weak, Bakugou. I doubt you could have done the same thing, protecting both Mineta's sister and the car passengers." Shoji, who had been part of the group around Mineta, defended him.

"Come on, leave Madman over here alone. Have you seen the video?" Takeshi also came to his defense.

"Yeah, he was a hero. Don't be a jerk, Bakugou."

"Yeah, don't discourage the Madman! I wanna what crazy shit he does next!"

"Come on Bakugou, you're just jealous you couldn't save the kid!" His classmates defended him from Kacchan, making him smile. He knew that last statement probably hit the mark too close to home for Kacchan, which showed by him blasting off a small explosion.

"Okay dumbass, shut up before I shut you up. I'll call Deku whatever I want to call him. And Madman?" He addressed the name the class had picked up from the video. He actually smirked. "You know, that might fit. Because Deku here is fucking mad, he's a fucking loony. You must be mad if you think you can be more than an extra while I'm the top hero."

"Midoriya will be the top hero, I bet! He will be a lot better than you, Blastypants!" Mineta couldn't help but get annoyed at her sister's hero get mocked.

As much as Bakugou wanted to blast her into a million pieces, she was saved by the teacher who sent everyone to their seats. As they were walking there, Mineta had two more things to say to Izuku.

"So, I know you and Mezo are gonna meet over the summer. Do you mind if I tag along? I bet my sister wants to meet you again." Izuku wasn't really sure what to say to that, and knew he should probably talk to Shoji about it (since when did she use his first name?) But he really wasn't prepared for the next line.

"You know, your abs are killer. Maybe I can see you with no shirt on at beach or something."

Despite all his preparations, he still wasn't good with girls. He blushed.

* * *

So yeah, I did two chapters at once (for those who are reading this when I post it). I initially thought it was going to be one, but I realized it would be too long for the flow I wanted. If you are wondering, yes, I am totally foreshadowing Izuku's hero name won't be Deku. I know I am also kind of rushing through this sort of stuff but with my 3 big Naruto fanfics (Second Chance, The Hat Hangs Heavy and Lost Idol) I spent way too long with setting up background and everything else to get into the meat of the story I wanted to write. By the time I got there my interested dwindled and my stories lay where they are. So I am kind of steamrolling through the pre U.A. stuff but there is a few more chapters to it. Like this next one. I did promise a new future for All Might, didn't I?


	5. Midoriya's on Valentine's

Izuku Midoriya was out of his element.

He was used to doing things that were completely absurd. It was how his reputation of being "The Madman' had grown in the last year and a half. Punch a snake? Sure, the camping trip he took with Shoji had been a wild experience. Using Shoji as a glider? It made perfect sense that two future heroes would figure out ways to combine their quirks for tag team maneuvers. Using Takeshi as a battering ram? His quirk was perfect for the incident at hand. Throwing Mineta at a thief and having her stick to him? If he had gotten a good look at his face, he wouldn't have had to take such drastic actions.

So yes, Izuku Midoriya was usually ready for anything.

"So, I mean, if you want… I'll let you be my boyfriend."

Confessions were not one of them.

It was Valentine's Day, and after classes for the day, Midoriya was stopped by a letter in shoe box to meet him behind the school. Despite his concerns it was a prank, his friends told him to go for it. And a third year had been waiting for him. She had started off by giving him a bag full of chocolate, complained about how he was reckless (the time he accidentally jumped through the window to avoid being late) but then pointing out how he was cool and a good person (Cyclone was still only a sidekick, and his sister had no right to be bullying first years, so he hadn't been worried). And then came… the statement.

Midoriya was red. Super-red. This girl who called him out was also kind of blushing, but mainly was impatiently tapping her foot. He had to give her an answer.

Shit, what was his answer?

He looked at the girl, Kara Sasaki, again. She had longish black hair, thin glasses, and very sharp features. She was tall, beating him by a good 5cm but also frail-ish. She was being pushy, and he couldn't help but think it might have been a cover. He barely knew the girl, so he guessed it was easy to figure out his answer.

"Ah, well Sasaki. Thank you. I, uh, feel honored that you would let me but- "He was quick to add so she didn't think he was saying yes. And he was still struggling to find the words. " well uh, i don't know that much about you. And since you are graduating soon, I don't think it would be fair to you?" His instincts told him to try and make sure the girl didn't think it was her fault. Awkwardly, he offered to give back the chocolate she had just given him. "I, uh, don't think I deserve this. So you can have it back." He couldn't help but clench his eyes shut, worried she would blow up at him. He was just hoping he wasn't going to make it worse.

After a few seconds of silence, he slowly opened one up. She was looking mad and sad at the same time. Seeing he saw her, she turned around from him and crossed her arms. "Hmph. If you don't want to be my boyfriend I don't care. I was just being nice by asking. You can keep the chocolates though, I don't need them." She then reached into her bag and pulled out her phone, and Midoriya saw the light of the screen turn on. "Well, whatever, I'm needed elsewhere. Bye I- Midoriya." She immediately began to run away to the front of the school, away from him. It was kinda obvious she had just been looking to get away from him because she was getting emotional about his rejection.

He had no idea what to do, or what to do with the chocolates still in his hand. It would be rude to throw them out, but he couldn't help himself in thinking it would be ruder to eat them.

"Midoriya, you idiot! You had a tsundere, and you threw it back? Just cause there are a ton of fish in the sea doesn't mean you throw back a prize!" Startled, he looked up to see Mineta climbing down the building on her sticky balls. Had she been watching?

"A tsundere? I mean… I didn't even know her! Why should I say yes just cause she confessed?" He couldn't help but ask. "And were you watching the whole thing?" Asking as well as she reached the ground.

"Because, and yes. Yes I was." She looked annoyed at the green haired teen. " I THOUGHT I was gonna see my nerdy buddy get some, and he says no. What the hell?"

Izuku rolled his eyes at his perverted friend. "Come on Mineta. I didn't know her much at all and she isn't my type." He confessed to the girl.

A creepy smile came over her face. "Ohohoho, so Midoriya has a type after all? Does Mezo know, or do I have to get it out of you myself?"

"Shouji knows nothing!" He didn't want Mineta to harass his best friend over the topic. She harassed him for other reasons enough.

The smile became vicious as Mineta suddenly reached for one of her sticky balls. His eyes went wide since he knew the plan. As soon as the ball was thrown at his feet, he dodged.

"Oh no, you aren't getting away that easily Madman! Tell me your female preferences!" Mineta began to weave around the area, making herself unpredictable to Izuku.

"Nope!" Izuku dodged another sticky ball as a plan came forward. He immediately began to think about the time Kacchan called Shoji a perverted criminal.

" Then tell me Mezo's! Be specific, plastic surgery is expensive!" Mineta yelled back.

"Why the hell do you need surgery?" He replied back, getting Mineta's eyes wide. It was a clue, a tell, about what Midoriya was doing. He only would swear if he was-

Jumping incredibly high, Midoriya leaped toward the wall and Mineta's sticky balls she used to climb down from the roof. Using the chocolate box still in his hand to push off the ball safely, he continued his leap until he landed safely on the roof of the three story school.

-He only swore if he got super angry. She couldn't help but whistle at the jump, and was impressed by how clever using her own quirk against her had been.

"Hey dickchaser, make sure that chocolate gets to a good home. See your ass later!" Midoriya called out from the roof.

She snarfed. Dickchaser was such a Midoriya insult (even if it wasn't a bad one.) And she bet Megumi would love some chocolate. Grunting, she went back to the wall to climb up her structure to retrieve them, honestly curious what kind of person Midoriya liked.

…

Inko Midoriya wished she had waited for her son to come home before grocery shopping.

It had been busy at the market, full of men and women looking to buy last minute ingredients to complete their Valentine's Day dinner. Her regularly scheduled day of shopping had been an ordeal. Plus they had a few really good deals, which made her overbuy for the household and was making her struggle to carry everything back to her home.

It wasn't far, of course, but managing all the bags at once could be difficult. Also one of them was a paper bag filled to the brim that she had to balance precariously as she made her way through familiar streets. Slow and steady won the race, of course?

Her eyes were peeled onto the tomato at the top of the paper bag. It had been wobbly for a minute now, and she knew it could topple over any instant. She was tempted to use her quirk to try and center it, but she was always terrible with directing items without using her finger to guide it. And there wasn't any place for her to easily put the bags down to fix the problem either. It seemed like if she might just lose that tomato, which was bothersome since she actually liked the produce.

"Ma'am." A deep voice interrupted her thinking from the distance. He heard footsteps behind her slap the concrete as it came closer. "I don't mean to bother, but it looks like you could use some assistance." The steps and voice were closer now, probably only a few feet behind her.

Slowly, she turned to see the man offering assistance. He was unfamiliar, perhaps new to the neighborhood. He was amazingly tall in her eyes, she wouldn't be surprised if he easily cleared two meters tall. He also looked to be skin and bones, with a sharp chin and hair that reminded her of a lion's mane. He would almost be intimidating, if it wasn't for the softness in his eyes. He seemed like he truly wanted to help. Sighing she nodded.

"Yes, thank you very much. Could you please grab the paper bag and help me carry it to a bench? I think I need to adjust a few things in it so nothing spills." She told the man with a nervous smile. Perhaps he was intimidating, he reminded her of a giant skeleton. A nice one, but still.

"Not to impose, but I noticed how you were having troubles carrying it either way. I could carry it to your residence, if you like." An earnest smile crossed his face.

Red flags popped up and were knocked down in Inko's mind. A suspicious man coming up to a strange woman and getting her in private gave her reason to run, but his body language and expressions gave her ease.

Her gal pals would so yell at her for being an idiot when she told them about this.

She smiled at him. "Are you certain? I don't want to impose…"

He let out a chuckle as he reached out to grab the bag from her (a chuckle she thought was pleasant to the ears) "No imposing at all!" The bag was in his hands. "I just moved to the area recently myself, so getting to know where things are is always helpful. And helping people is, too." He awkwardly tacked on.

"So you want to know where I live, huh?" She couldn't help but tease him. She could just tell by looking at him that he was a lot like her son. A very, very good heart but awkward and a little unconfident. She guessed being as tall and gaunt as he was, people didn't treat him that well. Poor thing.

The man had the decency to blush. "Wah-what! No I couldn't, I mean, I was just saying, well uh-"

She ended his suffering with a chuckle. "I am just teasing you. It's a bad habit by friend Mitsuki imprinted on me. I know you mean things like street names and shops and such." She turned. "Please follow my lead Mr…. I don't think I caught your name." She realized she hadn't offered hers either.

"Oh, of course. I'm Yagi Toshinori." He bowed slightly.

She bowed slightly back. "Inko Midoriya. Alright then Mr. Toshinori, please follow my lead."

"Of course. Miss Midoriya." He began to follow her before thinking he made a mistake. He didn't stop walking behind her, but he spurted out an apology. "I'm sorry, I mean Mrs. Your husband won't mind a stranger assisting you will he?"

Inko smiled but didn't turn towards him. "No, no, Miss is correct. It has been almost eight years since our marriage ended, it would be odd if I still went as missus."

"Oh, I …" Toshinori had no idea what to do. Apologize? But it was so long ago, and he had literally just met this woman. He had no frame of reference. "So you live alone, then? You seem to have a fair bit of groceries for one person."

She shook her head at him. Yup, awkward. "No, I have a son who is turning fifteen pretty soon. Plus his two friends like to visit every once in a while, so I need to be prepared for making a big meal."

"I see. I'm sorry I keep asking questions. It is a habit of mine, trying to understand the situation." He admitted.

"No, I understand. Not to be rude, but you kind of remind me of my son."

"I do?" Toshinori couldn't help but be intrigued.

"Both very good people with good hearts...but also incredibly awkward." She turned as she said the second part, a knowing smirk directed at the man.

He couldn't help but blush. Was he that obvious he wasn't good at being social? "I'm sorry." It was all he could think to say.

"I don't mind. I must confess, my friends usually call me the awkward one. I worry alot, you see." She offhandedly told the man.

Toshinori could only nod at that. "I understand. My old co-workers thought the same of me, a giant worrywart."

"You are a giant, that's for sure." She casually joked. She looked ahead to see here apartment within sight. Pointing towards it, she tells him that, "just another few blocks, and you can be on your way Mr. Toshinori."

"Am I that bad company, Miss Midoriya?" She could tell he had said it with a joking manner, and wasn't going to look at his puppy eyes he was no doubt sporting. It was only in jest, but still…

"No, no. You are fine company. I just don't mean to hold you up, I'm sure you are quite busy." She assured him.

There was a pause before she heard him begin speaking. "I mean no, I'm actually rather free at the moment. Training for my new profession doesn't begin for another month, so I am just living life until then."

This made her interested. "Really. What sort of profession?" She couldn't help but turn around to see him.

He looked embarrassed, scratching the back of his head with his free hand. "Well, teaching. They were interested in me starting immediately, but I knew I was in no position to do so." He shot her a smile. "So they agreed to train me to be the best teacher I can be, which is a relief. I didn't want to fail my future students."

She couldn't help but smile back at his earnestness. This had been so pleasant. "Well, they will be lucky to have you. If you don't mind, where will you be teaching?"

He waved it off too casually. "Nowhere too impressive, just my alma mater. I haven't really been back in the city in decades, so everything feels so new to me."

She noted how he never said what his alma mater was, but she decided not to press it. She had already gotten far more personal with the man than she had intended. In fact…"I'm sorry, Mr. Toshinori. I believe I have been making you answer too many personal questions."

"No worries! You are fantastic conversation!" He beamed.

She looked away, not wanting him to see the faint blush.

Very shortly after, they arrived at her apartment door. Toshinori obviously had no plans to enter, and to be honest she wasn't planning on inviting him inside. Despite the conversation, he was still a stranger. However, that changed after she quickly dropped her plastic bags off in the kitchen and came back to the front to get the paper bag from him.

GGGUUURGGG!

He blushed from the loud noise of hunger coming from his stomach. She was embarrassed for him as he tried to wave it off. "It looks like I need to get back to my place to eat something, now doesn't it?"

She nodded, but couldn't help but look at how thin he was. Maternal instincts kicked in, and she wanted to make sure he was doing fine. "Have you been eating enough then? Not to be rude, but you do seem to be awfully thin."

His demeanor shifted, more sullen and contemplative. " It is what it is. My stomach is...sensitive so it limits my pallette and makes it easy to forget meals." The mood changed again, to a bit more self-deprecating. "And I'm still waiting on the new rice-cooker. My old one broke during the move, so I've been living off of store bought food for a few weeks now." He let out a half hearted chuckle, mocking his own misfortune.

Inko was horrified for the man. He was clearly not in the best physical condition, and to try to make your diet an instant one was a nightmare. A softer stomach rumble of the man made her certain she was doing the right thing. "Oh , you should be treating yourself better than that. If it is not too much, would you like to stay for dinner? Anything I should avoid making?"

Toshinori was obviously surprised by the concern in her eyes and tried to wave it off. "No, that is too much,I mean… I don't want to impose." He stopped, seeing how sincere she was being in her worry of his well being He let out a sigh.

Well someone had to be.

"Red meat. Too much dairy. Nothing spicier than a jalapeno. Very stalky vegetables. Mushrooms."

"Mushrooms?" She could understand the rest, for someone with a weak stomach. But mushrooms?

He looked embarrassed. "It's...their texture." He explained, meekly.

She wanted to snort at the child-like food aversion. Instead, she nodded in understanding. "So something traditional then? Thankfully, I went shopping!" She grinned, showing off the bag she had taken from him.

He let out a nervous laugh before getting serious performing a slight bow. "Thank you for inviting me, Miss Midoriya." He waited to get confirmation, fidgeting slightly.

She could only nod him inside, walking him to the living room to wait while she prepared dinner.

…

At least, that was the plan but he was insistent on helping her put away things and doing the little things, like washing rice or gutting the fish, to help. It again reminded her of a man in her life, but not her son. No, she instead remembered how it was like in the beginning with Hisashi. Curse that man for being a cowardly workaholic, but at one time he would do everything he could to make her happy, all the little things to make her day easier. She knew it wasn't the same reasons but… it was nice.

"Mom, whose shoes are these?" Her son had just returned home and already noticed that she had company. Quickly checking to make sure nothing was in danger of burning, she quickly drifted to the front door where her son was staring at the large pair of shoes.

"Hello Izuku. Those are from someone I met today, Mr. Toshinori. He was nice enough to help me carry the groceries home, so I decided to invite him in for dinner." She leaned in towards her son who was looking confused and whispered. "And between you and me, from what he mentioned about himself he needs a good meal for once. He is skin and bones as it is!" She let out a quiet chuckle at her observation.

Her son trusted her judgement on the man,, so he relaxed. "So, uh, where is the guy?" But he couldn't help but want to size him up himself.

Inko nodded towards the bathroom. "Washing up. He insisted on helping me cook and well, he did what he could."

Putting away his stuff for the day, Izuku came back to see the man who his mother had offered her hospitality too, and he couldn't help but be amazed how accurate his mother's 'skin and bones' comment was. It was intimidating all tall he was on top of that but his face told another story, the story he assumed his mom saw and trusted. The man looked a bit startled to see him.

"Oh, hello! I'm sorry to intrude, you must be her son… Izuku was it? Your mother speaks highly of you." He gestured towards himself. "I'm new to the neighborhood, and saw your mother was having trouble with her groceries, so I came to her assistance. She was kind enough to let me stay for dinner, I hope you don't mind…" It was clear he was trying to pay attention to everyone's feeling, which Izuku liked about him.

"My mom already told me about that Mr. Toshinori. Thanks for helping her. So, uh, you said you were new to around here. Where did you move from?" He asked, trying to get some polite conversation with the house guest until dinner was ready.

"Oh, I lived in Minato for many years. Though to tell you the truth, for a few years in my youth I lived in Musutafu, though it was on the other end of the city." Toshinori casually explained to him.

"Minato? So did you do work at an embassy, or a company headquarters or what? If you don't mind me asking?" Izuku added to end of the statement, realizing how he was asking some perosnal question to a man he literally just met.

Toshinori shook his head. "No no no, well-" He paused his denial as he began to think. "I did have some contact with some of the embassies, but I worked a government position while I was there."

"That must have been interesting. So what made you leave Tokyo?" Izuku hoped he wouldn't mind asking.

"Oh well, I was… I realized I had to make a change in profession, and my alma mater here in Musutafu offered me a teaching position. Once I take a few classes in education, of course." He added honestly.

"So you have to go back to school then? That has to be weird. I couldn't imagine having to do that years after I graduate." Izuku honestly replied. Hero by day, student by night. That sounded like it would be a nightmare.

"Well, you never know what will happen. I didn't expect it either, but I'm making the best of the opportunity. I want to be the best teacher I can be, and go beyond my personal expectations!" Toshinori stood up to highlight his determination which would have worked...had he not begin to cough and spit up blood.

"Mr. Toshinori!" Izuku cried out, looking for something to clean up the blood. His cry caught his mother's attention, who began to fret the second she noticed the blood on their house guest. As Izuku freaked out and Inko rushed to get something to clean up the blood that he had coughed up, Toshinori did his best to calm the situation down.

"Now, now, no need to fret! It isn't something serious...it happens every now and then. The doctors say as long as it's only a little blood, I don't need to worry about it."

"HOW IS THIS NOT SERIOUS! You're coughing up blood!" Izuku loudly pointed out as Inko was rushing over with both a wet paper towel and washcloth.

Toshinori took the paper towel to clean himself off with while Inko wiped up the extra blood. Ignoring her fretting for the moment, he explained to the boy. "It really is nothing. I just had the misfortune to be caught up in a nasty villain attack a few years ago. I was lucky to get away with my life. It has led to a some issues with my health, but nothing I can't handle."

"Well Toshinori, if you think this is okay, I don't know if you can handle it yourself. You need to take better care of yourself!" Inko commented as she made sure everything was clean from the coughing attack.

While he noticed she dropped the 'mister', he didn't say anything on it. Sighing, he responded. "I know it is just… I have too much energy to contain it in the quiet life my body needs."

He had been a worker bee, trying to help and do something. She couldn't actually blame him for that. Standing up, she gently patted him on the shoulder. "Then you just need to find a way to use that energy in a safer way. Hopefully, once you get to teaching that will help." Taking the paper towel away from him, she tossed both in the trash and began to wash her hands of the mess. "Now, Izuku honey, can you help me set the table. Toshinori, I know you want to help, but please sit down and take a breather. You are our guest."

With that, a peaceful dinner was underway. It was an enjoyable experience for all, with Toshinori telling a few stories of adventures of him getting lost in the city in the week or two since he moved there. Inko told stories about her job at the bakery, and Izuku ended up revealing the confession he rejected, much to his embarrassment and his mother's pleasure that her son was 'growing up' and being 'so popular'.

It was the first time that Izuku had seen a man at the dinner table with him and his mom since his dad left, so it was a unique experience. Another thing he hadn't seen was how happy his mom was there. She was usually cheerful, or supportive, or content, or ecstatic, or something other positive emotion, but something as simple and powerful as happy? He couldn't remember it. But here she was, happy to have a full table and happy to have conversation with a man that was about her age (apparently a few years older, but that was neither here or there). And it was Valentine's Day, romance was in the air. So as Toshinori began to leave after dinner was finished and the table was cleared up, Izuku made his move.

"You know , it was nice having you over." He started, innocently enough.

"Thank you, young Midoriya. Your mother and yourself have been fantastic hosts. But I can not impress upon you to stay much longer. I also have a few things I need to get from the store, it was why I was out and about in the first place." The older man admitted to him.

Izuku looked towards his mother who was also at the entrance, seeing him off. Once he saw he had her attention, he made his play. "You know Mom, I think it would be nice to have Mr. Toshinori over again. If you don't mind, sir." He added, not wanting to impose upon the man. He had seemed happy to be there too, but it could have been a front.

His mother looked surprised at the comment, a faint glow of pink dusking her cheeks. "I, well Izuku, that does sound agreeable. Again, if it is to you as well, Toshinori."

The man was surprised by the development, but he couldn't help but smile and let out a soft chuckle. "Hehe, I didn't want to seem too forward, but I was thinking coming over again would be nice. So no, it would be no bother. Well, should I… would you like my number Miss Midoriya?" He awkwardly got out his phone, to send her the number.

"Oh, oh yes!" In a split second, Inko ran to the coffee table where her purse and phone were, and grabbed the device. Quickly, she made her way back over and almost slammed her phone into Toshinori's so they could swap numbers. She tried to stammer out an apology but he easily waved it off. Numbers were exchanged and both adults were grinning.

"Well, I'll make sure to call you when I'm free again. Your cooking is delicious, and I can't wait to try it again."

"Thank you, Toshinori. I'll be expecting your call."

With a set of goodbyes, the two Midoriya's were left alone in their apartment. Inko quickly sent a look at her son, who looked like he was the cat that ate the canary. It's not that she was mad, but he was being meddlesome.

"Mom, it's just… he was making you happy. And you deserve that." He defended himself honestly.

She let out a sigh. "Thank you honey, but I am a grown woman. I can make my own happiness." Her exasperation turned into a small smile. "But thank you. I wasn't sure of a good way to ask for his number myself."

Izuku couldn't help but grin.

Walking back to his place, Yagi Toshinori was conflicted. The day he had just had far outshone anything he had experienced...in years. Since the fight with All for One. But he felt like a fraud. After decades of living as All Might, he couldn't help but feel like a pretender as Yagi. He felt like he was faking being himself towards the Midoriya's. But it was all he could be now, since All for One took his power away from him. Not through his quirk, no, but the blows he left that tore him apart. Three scars that would never heal, that stopped him from being himself. He should be focusing on finding a successor. Instead, he was focusing on when he could ask Inko to call her by that name. He was being a fool.

Letting out a sigh, he thought at least he could still be a fool for now. He was also trying to figure out how long he should wait to call her for dinner again.

* * *

So this chapter took a lot longer than I thought. I had much more planned for it, but then I realized my plans were flawed and had to redo them. I also began writing a fic that I finished the first chapter of, until I realized it was totally bunk and I should just do as a one-shot. And I have been reading a ton of fanfiction. Seriously, both here and AO3 have a fair bit of good stuff (though I ended up reading far more yaoi than a straight young man probably should because, dear god, all the good stuff on AO3 seems to be TodoDeku). Hopefully, the next chapter won't take 3 weeks. Peace out!


	6. Dates and Workouts

"Shoji, I know this is sudden, but is it alright if I stay over Saturday night?" Izuku casually asked his best friend this question suddenly while they were out walking the streets of their city. It was the short time period between the end of one school year and the beginning of the next, their last in middle school.

"Mezo, no fair! I wanna stay the night too!" With them was their friend Mineta, who was immediately giving him puppy eyes, trying to get her way.

"Why do you need to spend the night, Midoriya?" Shoji asked him, ignoring Mineta's question for the moment.

"Well, I don't like lying to my mom so since I told her I was staying the night, I thought we might as well."

"Well, why did you lie to her in the first place?" Mineta pointed out. She had flipped the switch from clingy to inquisitive quickly.

Izuku scratched the back of his head. "Well, you know the Toshinori guy we've been inviting over for dinner every Tuesday? He wanted to pay us back by taking us out to eat this Saturday night. So, I kind of told her I had plans and that was the only one I could think of she would believe."

Shoji looked thoughtful as he digested that information. "I see then. That shouldn't be a big deal then. You might need to bring your video games over, since we don't have much in terms of entertainment." His family was very minimal in their needs, so it could make life boring for outsiders.

"Wait, so is your mom and this Toshinori still going out to eat Saturday night?" Mineta asked with her eyebrow raised.

"Yeah, I told them they should go ahead." Izuku admitted.

"Midoriya, when I have a son, I hope he is just as cool as you! Getting your mom a booty call!" Mineta gushed to him, causing both boys to put their heads in the hands.

"Mineta…"

"Minori, you have met Miss Midoriya and you know she is a kind and gentle woman. Don't disparage her name by claiming she would be so vulgar." Shoji chided the girl.

"But, but… Midoriya is trying to get his mom laid!" She tried to argue back.

"Mineta, why are such a pervert? I just think she is really happy around Toshinori and I want her to be happy. And he is a great person so I like him being around." Izuku tried to argue against his friend's claims.

"So you want them to date, right?" Mineta was gesturing with her hands as if to calmly explain something to someone.

"I mean... I guess that would be the right term." He thought it was obvious they had better chemistry than just friends.

"So they would be in a relationship, correct?" Shoji groaned, seeing where this was going but he hadn't yet.

"Yeah, and…"

Mineta smirked. "Well, a relationship means they would have sex. I.E. you are getting your mom laid." She looked so satisfied with getting one over on them with her logic.

Izuku couldn't fault her logic and cringed. While totally not his intention, that was what he was technically doing. Shoji saw his cringe and decided to redirect the conversation. "Minori, the answer is no. Anyway, don't you have to babysit Megumi Saturday nights?"

The girl frowned. "I mean, I could have brought her along. Fine, then can I stay Friday night? Sunday night?" The girl pleaded as she walked closely to him, rubbing his outer thigh in a suggestive manner.

Shoji lightly smacks her head between her grapes. "You can't stay over any night if this is how you will act."

She grunted. "Whatever! Have your stupid guys night! I hope you forget the lube!" She lewdly tacked on.

"You know Mineta, you can always spend the night at Kacchan's! His mom actually likes you!" Izuku wasn't kidding. They had run into the matriarch of the Bakugou clan who admired the spunk of Mineta.

Mineta cringed. "Ugh, Blastypants? He is a guy I'm glad isn't in my marketplace." It wasn't the first time she had alluded to thinking he played for the other team, and it wasn't going to be the last. "He thinks he is so tough, but I know my two boys can kick his ass any day of the week."

"You really fucking think that, do you now Baby Body?" Mineta jumped into Shoji's arms while Izuku froze. Coming round the corner of the building was Bakugou, a bag in hand. "The old hag has me get some bullshit cleaning supplies, and I run into the idiot patrol talking shit about me."

"Oh, hi Kacchan!" Izuku quickly greeted his childhood companion, trying to be nice.

"I'm sure you mock us behind our back all the time, Bakugou. Don't be surprised that the shoe is on the other foot." Shoji had no fear of the explosive classmate, and decided to be upfront about what had been going on.

"I, I wasn't mocking you Kacchan! We were just joking around. I know you aren't a fan of Mineta's, so I just used you as an example! It could have been half the kids in our class."

"Wow, I feel so loved." Mineta sarcastically droned. She stared back at the angry Bakugou. "And yeah, I think my boys can beat you in a fight. Unlike you, being angry helps Midoriya and Mezo can take you in a fight no problem." She defended her friends.

Bakugou rolled his eyes. "Sissy Deku can be as much of a 'madman'" Bakugou mocked the nickname he had garnered over the years, "as he wants in a fight with me, and I'll still blow him up to kingdom come! As for Octololi over here, he can throw as many hands at me as he wants, but mine are still better." He gripped the bags he was holding before sneering and spitting in the opposite direction. "I don't have time for your shit now! I just have one more year to deal with you clowns and then I will be free of you losers while I kickass at U.A."

"You are aware we three all plan to take the entrance exam as well, don't you?" Shoji quickly pointed out, getting a confused look from Bakugou.

"Wait, are you fucking telling me you two shits are trying to apply as well! I thought Deku was the only one stupid enough to get in my way." Bakugou began to get angry.

"Of course, Blastypants. We all are GOING to be heroes, and we plan to leave you in the dust!" Mineta cockily pointed her finger towards him.

"Deku, hold my shit so I can blast your wannabe whore friend into orbit." He looked very serious at the moment.

It was at this point that it became obvious that things were going to far, and Shoji picked up Mineta and put her on his shoulders. "Right, Minori, stop being a nuisance. I apologize to you Bakugou, this encounter went too far. You should be returning to your home so the 'old hag' can get her things. Come on Midoriya, the movie starts in twenty minutes."

Midoriya had almost forgot they had been killing time until the showing of a classic hero film in one of the more artsy theatres. Slightly bowing to Bakugou in apology, he rushed past him with Shoji and crossed the street to get away from the angry teenager. Fortunately, he kept walking away from the trio.

Mineta bopped Shoji in the head while obviously enjoying the experience. "Mezo, you could have defended my honor! He called me a wannabe whore!" She complained.

"I should have said something…" Shoji admitted, thinking it was rude.

"I'm not a wannabe, I'm aspiring."

Izuku laughed at Shoji's groan. Mineta may have been ridiculous in some aspects, but she was at least entertaining.

…

Their guy's night went pretty well. They spent most of it watching tv (something Mrs. Shoji insisted on) or playing card games. It had made them forgot most of the events of the previous Wednesday, until the next morning. The two of them went to the gym that Shoji was a local member of in order to get a good workout in. Izuku had rarely gone to a proper gym, subsisting on the equipment he brought to his house and basic exercises to get into shape, so seeing the wide array of gym equipment to use made him eager for the experience. It was only fifteen minutes into their workout did the events of Wednesday become important.

"You fucking kidding me? What are you two doing here?" They had happened to walk by a startled Bakugou at one of the leg press machines.

"I've been a regular here for two years, Bakugou. I haven't seen you here before." Shoji added.

"And he invited me." Izuku was quick to tack on.

Bakugou could only grunt. "Of course the best gym I can get into in this stupid city and you have to be here. I thought I found the holy grail when I came here last month since the last one kicked me out."

"Why did they kick you out Kacchan?" Izuku innocently asked.

"None of your fucking business Deku!" Bakugou spat back.

"Anger issues, I bet." Shoji muttered only loud enough so that Izuku could hear him clearly. "Look Bakugou, I don't see any reason for us to have an issue. We can both go to the same gym with no ill will between us." Shoji tried his best to play peacemaker. He liked this gym.

He grunted. "Whatever. Just don't get in my way."

They left the boy to his own devices, and focused on their workout routine. It was mostly Shoji explaining why certain exercises were so effective, and how some machines worked out certain muscle groups. Izuku had known his friend was big into the gym, he hadn't realized he was pretty much an exercise-otaku.

They ended up their for almost three hours, and Izuku was feeling incredibly sore and tired. He was also feeling like he had done a lot more to improve himself than his workout routine had ever done. Focused as they walked out of the gym after cleaning up, he pulled out his phone and began to browse.

Shoji, happy with his workout, was a little surprised at his friend's instant focus on his phone after leaving. "Something up?" He asked neutrally.

"Well, I just realized I really need to go to the gym instead of my own workout program. So I need to find a quality gym that I can afford to go to. I would like this one, but I know you said it was expensive and I think it would be a bad idea considering Kacchan frequents it."

Shoji could only nod in agreement. "Considering the tension he brings whenever you two are near each other, I think that would be wise. I'm not sure I will be of much help, since this is only gym I know of in the area. But I'm sure the local forums and review sites would be of some assistance."

Izuku could only nod to his admission. "Exactly my plan. I have a few bookmarked I will look into more later. Hopefully one is a perfect fit." With that hope lingering, the two of them went back to Shoji's to get a post-workout meal. That was quickly followed by his decision to return home, since he knew he still had a few chores to do. He was also curious as to how the dinner went with his mom and Toshinori.

So he was very surprised to see Toshinori greet him at the door, instead of his mom. To their mutual embarrassment, the first question out of his mouth was, "Did you spend the night here?"

It only grew more embarrassing as he watched him go red and began to sputter. "Wha-wha, why do you...that is a...no! I just...your mother invited me for brunch!"

"Izuku, you have been hanging out too much with that female friend of yours. I don't know how her mind got so far down the gutter." His mother chided him from inside the apartment, overhearing the conversation.

"No, I mean, I was just surprised to see him here!" Izuku defended himself poorly.

"Its- its okay young Midoriya. You are just looking out on your mother's behalf. I don't blame you. Did you have a good time with your friend...I believe his name is Shoji?" Toshinori deflected the conversation as they walked back into the living room.

"Oh, it went pretty well. We mostly just hung out last night, and we actually spent most of the morning at the gym he regularly goes too." Izuku told them.

"That must have been nice, you normally just use the equipment I've got you when you want to work out." His mom noted casually.

"No offense mom, but I think I can help myself a lot more going to a real gym than just using my stuff. They will always have more equipment, and the people are usually nice and can help you if you need it. The only problem is trying to pay for a membership…" Izuku admitted aloud. "I don't want to have to make you pay for it. So maybe...can I get a little part time job or something?" He asked, trying to solve this dilemma.

"Izuku, I can't let you do that! You are still trying to get into U.A. right? You need to focus your time on that. I'm sure I can find a way to get it into the budget." She told her son, the numbers already crunching in her head.

Toshinori's expression of discomfort when the prospect of Izuku getting into U.A. went unnoticed by the family, but his triumphant look he was wearing as he stood up was noticed by the both of them. "I just recalled an old friend of mine in the area owns a gym nearby called Segata's. I've seen it when I walked around town, but I keep forgetting to get in touch with him. If you give me a day or two, I think I can get you a membership there free of charge!"

Izuku quickly went to his phone, and pulled up something. "I saw that place earlier when I was looking to see what was in the area… it didn't have much in an online presence but a few people mentioned it was a good spot." He seemed to be looking over the information he could pull up on his phone. "It isn't that far from here at all. It seems perfect!"

"Well, that would be nice to be able to get it for free...and if he is an old friend of yours Yagi I trust him."

"Then it's settled. I'll get in touch with him tomorrow and set it up for you, young Midoriya!" Toshinori beamed as his plan worked.

In all actuality, he was a co-owner of the facility as part of his investments of his merchandise earnings. He owned a dozen of gyms like that around the country, acting as the financial benefactor to the vision and efforts of the main owner. Segata Sanshiro had been a very intense man when they met twenty years before and had still been so when they last met eight years before. He was probably going to have to reveal his current state to the man in order for him to believe that he was his old business partner, but he trusted Segata to not spill the beans. It wasn't like he could keep this a secret forever.

"Thank you so much. I don't know how to pay you back!" Izuku was grinning.

"All I ask is you do your best. Inko said you wanted to go to U.A. correct? If I recall, there motto is Plus Ultra! So as long as you follow that motto, it will be payment enough."

Izuku could only stammer a little. "Of course...thanks." He then looked between the two adults in the room. "So, uh, I can't help but notice you two are using the other's first names. And you invited him back over for brunch. So, I'm guessing last night went well?"

His mom blushed, and Toshinori got shy. His mother faked a cough before telling Izuku the situation.

"Um, well, yes, yes it did. I hope… I hope you don't mind but… I know he won't ever replace your father… and it doesn't mean we will get that far, but, we decided that we were both happy and it was a good idea to do this again so the fact is Yagi and I are now in a relationship." His mother stammered through it, but got out the news eventually.

"Like your mother said, young Midoriya, this is only tentative...and even if this goes well I don't intend to replace anyone in your life… but Inko makes me very happy and I hope you don't mind me in her life." Toshinori was very awkward as he said it, but Izuku heard the sincerity in his voice.

"Don't worry, I don't mind at all. I just want you to be happy, the both of you."

The next week or so was a whirlwind for him. He began membership at the gym and met with the very intense owner, he saw his mother and Toshinori spend quite a bit of time together, he hung out with his friends and he had to get ready for his last year of middle school. His last year before he reached for his dreams at U.A.

…

So I lied to you all about how long this took...but my other story kind of popped up and derailed me. This is also a filler chapter in a lot of ways. It does set up a few plot points and gives some characterization but it is ultimately a way to get from where I left last chapter off at and get to the more interesting stuff (aka Sludge Villian next chapter!) I think I'm gonna update this again before I work on chapter 3 of Midoriya the Ronin, but don't quote me on that.

Also, just so we are clear about how I'm writing Minori Mineta, I'm inspiring her from the main character of B Gata H Kei's main character Yamada. I want to keep Mineta very true to the Mineta archetype while having fun and giving people a chance to like her which I hope I do.

Tell me what you think in the reviews about that or anything else!


	7. Battlefields

"She is definitely trying to sneak over to your place." Shoji pointed out, noticing how Mineta had quickly excused herself after class had ended.

It was a nice April day and school was back in session, so Izuku and Shoji had planned with their friend to hang out at the park. It wasn't uncommon for music to be playing, and it seemed to be a shame to be indoors. However, Izuku had let it slip that he also wanted to leave his mom alone with Toshinori since apparently they had plans for that afternoon. Mineta had obviously taken that as a cue to sneak over to his place and meet this mysterious man that she had been joking about 'trying to get under Miss Midoriya's skirt' for weeks now.

He grunted at how right his friend was. "I should have known better than to open my mouth." The younger Midoriya admitted. "We should probably catch up with her. Knowing her, she might ask for something ridiculous." The ideas running through his head of what his perverted friend would want made him uncomfortable.

Shoji agreed with him. "That would be like Minori. I would assume she took the long way so she doesn't go near the park."

"So we should hurry up?" He thought that was the most probable way she had gone.

Shoji nodded, leading the two to hurry as they rushed to catch their friend before she had gotten too far.

To their eternal gratitude, they did catch up to her. Just as a giant pile of sludge dodged one of her sticky balls to converge on the diminutive girl. Without even thinking, Shoji ran in a dead sprint. "Get away from her!" He yelled as he rushed the sludge person.

Izuku took a few seconds to let the juices of his quirk flow, starting off with a determined walk and it blossoming into leaps between every step. He passed Shoji's rush a good 10 feet from the sludge person and Mineta, and immediately went to grab her out of their foes grasps. "Get the hell away from her!" He gripped the sludge as best he could and pulled, to little effect.

The villain finally took notice of the duo and smirked. "Friends of the little one, are you? You two would serve as much better skinsuits than her!" He turned his attention fully away from Mineta, giving enough time for Shoji to swoop by and grab her away from the sludge. She flung the sticking muck from her.

"Ew, ew, ew! That was nasty." She scrunched her face up as she complained before turning to Shoji and beaming. "Mezo, my hero."

The sludge villain pounced towards Izuku in an ooze, making him jump back and push the wall of muck away from him. The muck followed as the villain readjusted his momentum to stay on Izuku, giving a devilish grin at his prey. "Where do you think you're going?"

Izuku decided then he had to go on the offensive, so he jumped onto the nearby road railing and land on it for a split second before rushing forward with a punch. He aimed for the eye of the villain and connected, causing him to flinch and fling Izuku away from him as he bemoaned his temporary blindness of his eye.

Shoji returned his attention to Mineta. "Minori, I'm gonna throw you up to the main street level and I need you to get a hero's attention. Midoriya needs my help or else the villain might do something terrible to him.

The diminutive girl was surprised by the suggestion but nodded. She didn't want her friend hurt. "Alrighty then, throw me! But don't do anything stupid, and keep an eye out!"

Two of Shoji's extra arms grew eyes at the end of them. "I can do that." He quickly joked before prepping the girl to be thrown. "And remember to roll when you hit the ground."

Mineta nodded. "I'm not stupid. Make me fly!" She held her arms out so she could soar. Shoji acquiesced, sending the girl to the main street level and out of sight for the moment. He returned his attention to Midoriya and the sludge villain after hearing Mineta confirm she was okay.

The villain had regained focus on Midoriya and was rushing him while he saw his friend analyze his enemy. Shoji waited to pick his spot, making sure to slowly creep closer as not to ruin whatever was being planned. He watched Midoriya jump over the attack of the sludge villain and stomp the outstretched hand, yelling at it. "You're not fucking taking my body!" He landed near Shoji.

"You know, you sound way too much like Bakugou for it to be a coincidence." The many armed teen couldn't help but comment.

"Well, what other damn role model do I have for anger?" Midoriya pointed out quickly. "I would say we run, but this bastard wants to steal someone's body and I will fight like hell to stop that."

Shoji raised his fists. "So we hope the hero is lenient on us using our quirks in public?"

"We can always point out this shit was self-defense." Izuku pointed out.

"You know, I think your buddy would be a better body for me! More room to fill!" Their foe had not really been paying attention to their conversation, changing his plans.

"I would rather you not." Shoji calmly dismissed the threat before charging him. Using his arms he made extra hands to assist him in punching, he and Izuku attempted to reign blows down upon the villain.

The green haired boy realized how fruitless it seemed to be, punching a pile of muck, but it was the best they could do. He hadn't said it, but he doubted this quirk was a mutant one, which meant the criminal had to actively use this mode. That took energy and stamina, and he figured that it was nearer its end than start with those things. If they could wear him out until the hero got here to save and capture, they would be good. But in the meantime, he was mad at how useless he felt, not being able to stop this person by himself. He wanted to be a hero, the number one hero, and that was a part of the job. So he hit harder and harder.

The villain seemed to try and flee, heading for a manhole that was suspiciously open. It seems that was how it snuck up on Mineta in the first place. They hadn't noticed, but if he got in there it would be a very, very bad thing. Izuku took a mad jump over the villain and held his arms out to guard the manhole opening. "You ain't crossing me, shitstain!" He boldly proclaimed.

The villain laughed. "Oh you think I want to run? Why would I, when I have two perfect skin suits to choose from!" He charged again at Izuku, taking the punches as he engulfed him and tried to enter his body.

Shoji was terrified, turning all his extra limbs into hands so he could claw the villain off of Izuku. "Get off of him!" He yelled as he pulled much away from his friend to little use.

"Hit me."

"What?" The voice of the villain and Shoji echoed off of each other.

Izuku had freed his mouth for a second and uttered the words again. "Fucking hit me.."

Shoji decided to trust his friend even though he sound mad. That was his shtick after all. Instead of trying to pull the villain off of him, his arms began to batter his friend like a punching bag, wounding both him and the villain.

The sludge swiped at Shoji to little effect as the teenager rained blows upon him and his getaway body. Quickly realizing the boy was trying to injure himself beyond usefulness, he plopped off of him and slid towards the safety of the sewers. A blast of fire from above stopped him in his tracks. Looking up, he began to shake in fear. This was not good.

The two boys, winded and bruised, looked for the source of the fire and felt themselves relax in relief. The number one hero in the country, Endeavor, was here.

"What do you think you are doing, you disgusting criminal?" Endeavor jumped from the main street level onto the one they were on, prepared to fight.

"Where the hell were you, Endeavor!? This guy was on the damn news at lunchtime!" Izuku was still feeling angry and let it out at the hero. Shoji looked shocked at his friends complaint and tried to shut him up.

If it had been anyone else, he would have responded and given the sludge villain a moment to plan an escape. But Endeavor wasn't anyone. Using his fire attack, he engulfed the criminal who screamed and convulsed as he felt the flames burn him. Finally, he turned back to his normal form, a forty something filthy man in his boxers and an undershirt. He was knocked out and charred at certain parts of his body. Endeavor was quick to reach him and attach a pair of quirk-binding handcuffs that would leave him powerless for the time. Only then did he turn his attention to the two boys. From the street level, Mineta finally returned having been outpaced by Endeavor. "Guys! You… oh you're safe. Great."

Ignoring her, Endeavor focused his attention on Izuku. He was calming himself down with breathing exercises and flushed red in embarrassment. He had just insulted the number one hero in Japan. Shoji was patting his shoulder in comfort, having turned off his quirks as well.

"I'm sorry I couldn't save you earlier. I was saving somebody else from a fire. And a car crash. You seemed to be doing fine using your quirks." Endeavor was humorless as he ran down the situation from his P.O.V.

"I'm super sorry sir! I know you work hard, and I respect everything you do. I didn't mean to curse you or imply you were not working to benefit the city." Izuku was bowing repeatedly as he tried to cover his new shame.

Shoji gave a bow as well. " Hello Endeavor. Thank you for saving us from this villain. I apologize for Midoriya as well, we were forced to use our Quirks to defend ourselves and a side effect of his quirk is a nasty vocabulary."

"What sort of quirk forces that?" Endeavor picked up the villain's unconscious form as he stared down the bowing boys.

"Uh, you see, my quirk is Anger Boost. The angrier I get, the stronger I get. So I had to force myself to become pretty angry to stand up to the villain. I'm sorry I disrespected you again Endeavor. Thank you for saving us."

Endeavor couldn't help but glare at the boy. "I see. That is still something you need to work on. Anger does not equal vulgarity."

"You're- you're correct Endeavor. If I want to be a hero, I can't be vulgar and rude to everyone I come across. Thank you for your insight." Izuku honestly meant it.

Endeavor ignored his confession of heroic aspirations and waved them to the main street level. "The police will be here shortly to take your statement on the incident. I expect you to be honest."

The two boys quickly agreed, and rejoined Mineta who began to fuss over "her two boys" as they waited for the police to pick up the villain from Endeavor.

…

The police had not been far behind, and recounting their version of events in full had not taken long. The police had not been pleased with their quirk usage, but found it acceptable in the circumstance though they were reminded it was not their duty to risk their safety for the public's. Shoji agreed to Mineta's request of taking her home, while Izuku planned on returning to his place by himself. The hero Endeavor had different ideas.

"Izuku Midoriya, was it not? I would like to speak to your guardians about this incident."

He gulped in fear. "Did I..I didn't mean to anger you Endeavor sir."

He shook his head. "I do not feel anger in this incident. I just need to do my diligent duty as a hero."

Worried out of his mind, he was escorted by police car back to his apartment building. It was nerve-wracking to have Endeavor with him, essentially silent save for a few questions confirming his parents (or at least parent) was home and that he was in the final year of middle school (apparently like his son Shouto, whoever that was Izuku thought.) It was so awkward being so close to the top hero, going over what he saw in the short fight he had engaged in to try and analyze his quirk. He had a great deal of respect for Endeavor, of course, but he didn't feel the urge to fanboy over him. He was a great hero, that was true, but not the role model he strived to be.

He climbed the stairs to his apartment, hoping his neighbors didn't come out at this moment to see him being escorted by the number one hero. It would look like he had gotten into trouble, and he didn't want his mother having to deal with that gossip. Fortunately, they didn't across anybody and were able to reach his apartment with no incident. He looked back at Endeavor, who was studying him, He swallowed out of nervousness before asking, "So, uh, do you want to come inside or should I call my mom out to you or what would you prefer, sir?"

"I would prefer this didn't take long, so I would rather meet her out here." He informed Izuku, who could only nod in response.

"Okay." He said aloud, before getting his key and unlocking the door. Not wanting to annoy the number one hero by getting out of his sight, he stepped inside and called into the apartment. "Um, mom. I'm home. I...someone needs to speak to you though." He should have just told her it was Endeavor, but it felt slightly silly and unbelievable. Thinking about it, it sounded ridiculous. 'Mom, the number one hero escorted me home and wants to complain about me.' He wouldn't use those words, but it sounded odd.

"Young Midoriya, your mother is out at the moment getting some milk. Apparently you ran out this morning and she forgot to get it earlier." He heard a voice come towards the door he recognized. He saw the confusion on Endeavor's face.

"I thought you said you only had your mother living with you." He said, suspicious of the boy. The voice sounded like one he had heard before as well.

"Oh, uh, this is just my mom's boyfriend. He is just visiting." He quickly informed the hero.

"So, my boy, who needs to speak to Inko…" Toshinori paused as he walked into the hallway and the two men saw each other. Both were obviously startled to see the other, which confused Izuku.

"Um Toshinori, do you...know Endeavor from somewhere?" He couldn't help but ask. It looked like they knew each other.

Endeavor gritted his teeth. "Yagi, what a surprise to see you in my neck of the woods." And it was. He thought he had retired in Tokyo.

"Haha, yes indeed Endeavor. I only moved to the area a few months ago." He admitted to the hero.

"So, you guys… know each other?" Izuku wanted to confirm.

Toshinori remembered that he was there and looked back at Endeavor with a bit of a nervous glance. "Why yes, though we haven't spoken much in some time. My government job involved a lot of contact with heroes such as Endeavor, so I have a familiarity with many of them."

Izuku didn't notice the amused glance Endeavor was giving Toshinori. "Yes, yes indeed Yagi. To be honest, I didn't think I would ever see you again when you left your old position. What brings you to Musutafu?"

"Teaching. I'm going to be teaching at my alma mater starting next year, so I moved to the area while I take education classes to prepare." Toshinori admitted.

"Your alma mater? Tell me, what was that again?" Endeavor teased the man, but it went over Izuku's head.

Toshinori grimaced. Had Endeavor always been this spiteful? He wasn't ready to admit to his past quite yet, so why was he trying to make him talk now. He had to figure out how to sidestep the question, so he decided the obvious route. "Come now, you didn't come here to catch up. You wished to speak with Inko about Izuku here, didn't you? Which does make me wonder, what interest you have in him Endeavor." He asked the flame hero.

"He implied I was lazy while I was busy saving him from a villain attack." He put it bluntly.

Toshinori eyes widened in surprise. "Midoriya! I know your mother taught you better than that! Why would you insult a hero, and why were you in a villain attack?"

"It… there's more to it! Some sludge villain attacked Mineta, so me and Shoji had to save her. So then we had to fight him off, because he was trying to take over our bodies to hide or something. I had to use my quirk…" Izuku hesitated, remembering he had never actually explained his quirk to Toshinori. He had mentioned it made him stronger and more durable, but not what fueled it or its origin. And with the tension between the two men that he could faintly sense, he didn't want to give Endeavor fuel for it. He carefully choose his next words. "I lost my temper because I was scared for my friends and for what might happen if he got loose. So...I didn't mean to imply Endeavor was being lazy it was just...I directed my feelings poorly."

Toshinori let out a long sigh. "I see my boy. You are still young, and will still make mistakes. As long as you learn from those mistakes you can grow and be someone you can be proud to be." He patted him on the shoulder comfortingly. He turned his attention to Endeavor. "I can relay this information to his mother, so you don't have to waste your time here." The former hero tried to play it off and get the man out of here but it didn't work.

"No Yagi, I still have a few other things I want to speak to his mother about. You don't mind, do you?" Endeavor couldn't help but the faint hint of a smirk leak out.

While he wanted to say he did, he wasn't in a position too. He wasn't Izuku's guardian, Inko was, and if the number one hero felt the need to talk to her about Izuku it would be unethical to stop him. "Of course not." He wasn't going to invite him in, however, so the trio awkwardly waited for her to return from her shopping.

"E-e-ENDEAVOR!" When Inko Midoriya walked up the steps, the last thing she had expected would be the number one hero to be flanked by her partner and son.

"Hi mom." Izuku weakly waved, thankful his mom had arrived.

Toshinori rushed to her and grabbed the milk from her. "I'm sorry Inko, Endeavor arrived with Izuku about ten minutes ago. Apparently Izuku was caught up in a villain attack and some things happened. So now Endeavor would like to speak to you." He explained as they walked to the door. "I'll put them milk away and be back, alright dear?" She nodded, still astounded, as he quickly went inside.

Realizing Toshinori's words, Inko began to freak out over her son suddenly, looking him over. "Izuku baby are you okay? Are you hurt? What happened? Please tell me nothing bad happened." She touched his ribs and Izuku couldn't help but flinch. Shoji had left a bruise from his act of self-sacrificial bravado. His mother's freakout grew, showing so much concern for his injury. He had to stop her, as her worry was a bit embarrassing and he could feel the annoyance radiate off of Endeavor

"Mom, mom I'm okay. A villain tried to take over Mineta so me and Shoji had to save her. I tried to trick him to go after me so Shoji could punch him, but it didn't work that well. Endeavor caught him and saved us."

She turned to Endeavor and bowed. "Oh thank you, thank you so much for saving my son. I know he shouldn't have used his quirk out in public but it was just to save a friend and he so wants to be a hero so I hope you can at least understand." She began to mutter, defending her son.

"Yes, his...quirk. This is what I wanted to speak to you about Miss Midoriya. I do have to say, from what I saw and heard before entered the scene, your son does have potential to be a hero." Endeavor began, ignoring Izuku's losing his breath at the fact that the number one hero said he had potential and his mother's eyes starting to twinkle in amazement. "He forced a villain with an impressive quirk into retreat, something that can be difficult for even fully licensed heroes. He also has good instincts on the sacrifices it can take in being a hero." Toshinori had returned and overheard Endeavor's compliment of Izuku to his surprise. He hadn't expected such words from his former rival.

"However," Endeavor's mood shifted to incredibly serious. "He demonstrated recklessness that is not befitting of a hero." Toshinori noticed the subtle glance Endeavor gave him as he said this, as did Izuku. " While a hero takes sacrifice, self-sacrifice is a weakness. Taking yourself out of action is selfish to all of those who you could have saved." Izuku noticed Toshinori clench a fist, but his expression didn't change. "Also, make sure your son watches his tongue. His language was deplorable and unprofessional. I understand it is a immature side effect of his quirk, but being a hero demands mastery of your quirk. If he really wants to become a hero, he will do good to heed my advice."

"While I do not agree with everything he had said, young Izuku, I do agree any issues you have with controlling your temper and language must be resolved if you wish to be a hero. While working for the government, all the heroes I knew took their professional lives seriously, even if they were more vulgar or unpleasant in their personal lives. Right, Endeavor?" Toshinori threw down the gauntlet back at the hero, aware of the poor reputation Endeavor had in personal circles.

"Correct, Yagi. I hope I don't have to see you again in this manner, do you understand me Izuku Midoriya?" He stared at the nervous boy. Izuku simply nodded. "Good. Now, I have other business to attend too. Have a good day Midoriya family. Have a good day Yagi. Tell me, should I expect to see you around town?" Endeavor awkwardly segued

Toshinori shook his head. "Unfortunately, I don't think so. My retirement from my old job has made me less active, so I don't expect us to cross paths often." There was a bit of melancholy in his tone both of the Midoriya picked up on.

"I see." Was all Endeavor added before nodding goodbye. He left the apartment abruptly, leaving the trio to themselves.

They all wandered back inside, thinking different things. Inko couldn't help but be curious as to what kind of man Yagi was if he knew top heroes so well. Toshinori was nervous that the secret of his new life was becoming revealed, months before he had the confidence to do it himself.

And Izuku Midoriya knew something was up between Endeavor and his mother's boyfriend. What kind of secrets did he have in his closet?

….

I expected this to be a bit different. At one point I had Stendhal save the day after Toshinori called him in. But I knew it didn't work, so I had no idea how I was going to resolve the plot until magically Endeavor popped into my head and I was stunned about how well it all fit. I'm telling you, sometimes you know exactly what you want to write. You just gotta write it to find out what that is. Hope you liked this chapter, tell me what you think, I'll be back soon.


	8. Trust The Scarecrow

Izuku could not believe the vast dichotomy of thought he had about his mom's new boyfriend.

He was one of the coolest guys he had ever met, who was nice and went out of his way to help (even though it usually hurt himself in the process) and was the type of man Izuku hoped he could be.

He also didn't trust him one bit and was incredibly suspicious of him and was waiting for the shoe to drop. Or something to drop. Anything. There were too many questions.

Like around other heroes, big name heroes, he garnered respect. Best Jeanist, Crust, Gang Orca were among those who had gone out of their way, when they saw him in public to greet him and ask how he had been doing.

Or his time in America. He had a BBQ in the late spring that was full of dishes he had learned in the US, totally different from anything he had ever tasted. If you asked him about how he learned to cook like that, he could go for hours on the topic. But the second you brought up questions about what else he did in America the topic was abruptly rerouted.

Or his money. He had mentioned being a public servant in the past, but when he had taken them to the beach during the summer vacation he had paid for a luxury suite. And he had apparently taken his mother on dinners that cost them tens of thousands of yen on a few occasions. His excuse was frugality and an insurance payout from the injuries he sustained, but something smelled fishy to Izuku about that answer.

Plus the fact he never said what villain it was he got involved with. And most of all, for the life of him, he KNEW him from something. He wasn't sure what, but it was going to frustrate him when he figured it out that he hadn't sooner.

But he was a fantastic man, and his mom trusted him even after he came to her with his concerns. What was he to do?

"Yo Midoriya, earth to Madoriya." A familiar voice caught him from his trance.

Izuku blinked away his tangent and looked up to Takeshi. He ended up cocking his head. "Mad-oriya?"

"So you were listening. Good, but seriously, we need help designing the maze. We need to maximize scare points while dealing with the limited space we got." Takeshi went over what their group was doing for the classes School Festival event, the scary maze. Izuku was with the technical group for what was considered the safety of others. While he had protested the idea he would hurt a patron if they angered him (or that he would get angry in the first place) he was outvoted.

Seriously, he had spent the last few months getting his temper under better control, along with his language when he was utilizing his quirk. The fact they were ignoring that annoyed him, but there was nothing he could do but focus on the task at hand.

"I think the key is thinking three dimensional. Drop scares give us the best bang for the space issue." One of the girls pointed out clearly.

"And we could move around the walls! Lead them to a dead end, have them turn around, and there is a new path they have to take. That should be scary." Another boy had an idea.

"The hard part would be doing it quietly." Izuku pointing out. "Moving it would be noticed...unless we jump scare them in the dead end."

"We have permission for limited quirk use. Dashi's neck stretch could be perfect."

"Maybe as a fake portrait?" Takeshi chimed in.

"If we can use a few quirks, then Shoji should be in the center. Randomly appearing body parts at any time would be creepy." Izuku added.

"Ooh, I have a good one!" Mineta finally chimed in, to the concern of everyone present. They all turned slowly.

"R or X? Cause neither one is allowed." One of the girls joked.

"I know that. I wouldn't waste any of the my masterpieces on this place anyway." Mineta shot back. "No, we could have a fake jumpscare. You know, something obvious that makes the person scared it will jump out...but it never does. You know, put them on edge the entire time."

The group of six other planners all looked at each other before simultaneously smiling. "That is really clever of you Mineta." The girl told her.

"Seriously, that is a good idea. But where would we put it?" One of the other boys began to wonder.

"Probably right at the beginning. Ooh, I know! What we could do is loop the maze with the dead end trick. That way the fake scare can work twice." Izuku pointed out.

The next ten to fifteen minutes was a flurry of design of the maze and figuring out who on the scare team would be where. Eventually, the idea of the fake jumpscare came back around.

"I have no idea who we should put. Seriously, making someone just stand there all day would suck for them." A girl finally admitted.

"I mean, we would rotate the spot, right?" Takeshi countered

"But we still need to figure out what they are wearing." She came back with.

"Maybe a scarecrow?" Another girl added.

"That sounds like it would work." Izuku grabbed his chin, liking the idea.

"But who is a good scarecrow? Shoji already has a part or he could be perfect." Another guy pointed out.

"Maybe we could make something that looks like it could be real?" The first girl commented again

"Yeah, like Shoji moves it with one of his extra hands!" Izuku thought as well.

Ideas for the scarecrow began to fly around, but was stopped when Mineta spouted out a name. "Toshinori!" She exclaimed loudly.

Most of the people in the group were confused. "Who?" Collectively rang out from their mouths.

Izuku, knowing who she was talking about, was confused. "Huh?"

"Come on Midoriya, he would be perfect! He could be a great scarecrow or skeleton. He would do it." Mineta plead her case.

"I don't think we can bring in people from outside our class…" There was multiple reasons why Izuku was rejecting the idea, he just went with the most firm on a legal basis first.

"Who is Toshinori?" One of their curious group members asked, with nods of agreement from the others.

"His step-dad!" Mineta put it bluntly.

"Mineta!" That wasn't the first time she had called him that. "Toshinori is my mom's boyfriend. He is a pretty cool guy and all, but I don't think he would want to spend his day doing this."

"But he's perfect!" Mineta argued again, before describing him to the rest of the group. "He is at least two meters tall, but can't weigh more than 70 kg! He is thin like a skeleton, but he has this giant head of hair that kinda looks like a lion's mane. He is kinda sickly, which sucks, but it also causes him to cough up blood which would be a cool effect!" Her highlights did make him sound like a good attraction for a haunted house room.

"That sounds like it would work if the teacher would let us." One of the girls admitted.

Takeshi stood up. "Before we get ahead of ourselves, I'll ask the teachers of bringing in people from outside the school is okay." The nod he gave to Izuku made him relax a little, knowing he was on his side.

"So Midoriya, is he really that tall and thin?" Someone asked him.

He shrugged it off, but they did look curious. Sighing, he gave in to answering questions. "I don't know how much he weighs and stuff, but he is super thin. And he is at least two meters tall. He said when he was younger and lived in America, he was taller than everybody on the pro basketball team."

Everyone's eyes went wide at that imagery. That tidbit of info did create another question. "He lived in America?" A guy asked.

"For a few years. He hasn't told me that much about it. He's only been dating my mom for a little while."

"Come on, it's obvious he is your future dad!" Mineta chimed in. "Seriously, you guys can go for hours about heroes together. If I didn't know better, I would think he was your real dad!" Mineta joked.

He had to admit, that was very true. He might be a hero-otaku, but Toshinori was no slouch on knowing about heroes. Between his old job doing… something with heroes and the news, he knew his stuff. It was then Takeshi returned with a neutral expression on his face.

"Mr. Matsuda said it was okay as long as he met with him beforehand." He looked around the group. "Did we figure out if we want to invite him?"

"Guys, come on, we can do it ourselves. And he is probably busy." Izuku tried to deflect.

"It would hurt to ask." A girl pointed out.

"Exactly, if you won't, I can!" Mineta added.

The group began to agree around him that asking was the least they could do, and they could go from there. Seeing he was outnumbered, he gave in.

"Okay, okay. I'll ask him when I see him next. I don't know when that is, he doesn't come over everyday." He promised.

With that decided, the group continued with planning the layout for their haunted room event, with Izuku a bit more focused on planning how to ask Toshinori to do this favor for him.

…

He didn't get that much time to plan, seeing as the man was at his house when he arrived home from school. Apparently he had helped his mom with groceries, and was currently catching up on the news.

"Anything interesting?" This wasn't an uncommon occurrence, of one asking the other what they were reading up on.

Toshinori looked up and smiled. "Afternoon Izuku. I'm sad to say it is quite interesting, but disheartening. A team of villians up north put a group of civilians in the hospital. A prisoner in Tokyo vanished in his holding cell, believed to be the culprit of someone with a teleportation quirk. And Hawks was attacked by the Hero Killer."

That stopped Izuku in his tracks. Everyone knew of Stain, the hero killer who seemed to target heroes he deemed unworthy of the title. And Hawks was Hawks, the number two hero in Japan! The man many felt would become the Number One Hero in the near future. "I didn't hear about that! Why isn't that all over the news!" Izuku logically deducted.

Toshinori tapped his finger to his chin. "To be honest, it is only a hypothesis. But Hawks has been spending a lot of time in Nagoya as of late which is where Stain has most recently appeared. All records show he usually targets 3 or 4 heroes on each of his stops, but in Nagoya there only has been two confirmed attacks before the last three weeks of silence, an unusually long time for his M.O. Eight days ago, reports came out of Stain being sighted but there being no attacks. Hawks' activity has been unusually low key in the interim until today when he made a major stop of a rampaging villain. It is obvious he is nursing some sort of wounds that haven't fully healed, but he can not take any more time away from full duty."

"Wow." That kind of analysis was amazing to Izuku. But it did seem to fit.

Toshinori let out a half hearted chuckle. "I might be thinking too much into it, but I wouldn't be shocked if it was covered up. A high profile villain such as the Hero Killer making a move on someone in the forefront of the public eye could create a backlash. Especially since he was not captured."

Izuku had to agree with that point. "I guess so. But I mean, shouldn't have Hawks captured him? Is the Hero Killer really that powerful?" He worriedly asked him.

"I don't know. Again, this is all hypothetical. Heroes that survived encounters with him have mentioned his ability to create paralysis with his quirk, though the exact method has either been undetermined or unreleased to the public." The older man began to formulate possibilities in his head.

So was the younger, who spoke first. "So he was likely interrupted before he could finish his attack on Hawks. Or he was not able to fully paralyze him, and left the scene to avoid capture." He continued hypothesizing.

"Indeed, either one is a possibility. Unfortunately, I doubt they will reveal this to the public if this theory does hold true. Hopefully for our hero society, we are just reading into things." Shaking the dark line of thinking he had carried them to, Toshinori smiled. "Anyways my boy, how was your day in school? It is the time of season for School Festivals to start happening, is it not?"

Izuku nodded. "Well yeah. We actually already decided that our class would do a haunted room exhibit. I'm part of the planning team. Takeshi and Mineta are on their too." He mentioned casually before beginning to fidget.

Toshinori caught on and raised an eyebrow. "Don't tell me your Mineta friend is trying to pervert things like she is one to do? Her mind is a dangerous one." His cheeks almost dusted pink recalling a few of the personal questions the girl had pushed him on.

Izuku shook his head. "No, no! She actually had some good ideas. And, uh, I know this is a weird thing to ask, but one of them involved you." He got right into it.

"Did it now? Well, I'm all ears." His attention was fully focused upon the boy.

"Right," Izuku swallowed before explaining the idea. "Basically, she thought we should have a decoy that looks like it should be really scary but is just meant to put people on edge until the real scares happen. Something like a scarecrow or a skeleton that is a person you think is going to jump out at you."

"Interesting idea, misdirection. A classic tactic, but one that works. So what do I have to do with…" He seemed to begin to get the idea.

"Yeah, we were trying to figure out who it could be and she thinks you would be perfect. And, after hearing her describe you, a lot of people on the team think so too. I totally understand if you can't, but would you be interested? You wouldn't have to do much, just stand around and look menacing. You totally don't have too, they just, wanted me to ask you." Izuku trailed off.

Toshinori narrowed his eyes. He couldn't get a clear tell from Izuku on his opinions on the matter. It appeared there was only one thing to do. "I would most likely be free to do so, and helping you and your class would cause me no trouble for me, young Izuku. But the question is, do you mind if I come?" He asked him.

Izuku's eyes went wide. He hadn't expected to be asked his opinion. "Uh well, I mean, it really shouldn't be up to me. Y-y-you can come if you find it-"

"My boy, I asked because I care about your opinion. I was young once as well. I don't mind if you would be embarrassed or feel awkward with me around. I wouldn't take it personally." And Toshinori wouldn't. He knew how cruel and how nosy kids could be. His position as the parent's partner was one that could be of great ridicule for him.

Izuku stopped and gave it serious thought for a minute. Toshinori had insisted on the choice being up to him. So how did he feel about it? His instinct was to say no, but why? Would he embarrassed of him? No, he wouldn't. He thought he was a decent man that wouldn't do anything to humiliate him. Would it be that awkward to have him around? Not really, he wasn't known as the cool kid. It couldn't be any more awkward than one of your closest friends being an unrepentant pervert who had been caught trying to sneak into the boy's locker room (and heaven knew how many times she had succeeded).

Was he worried for Toshinori then? Was it his health, or him being the subject of ridicule? Thinking on it, he knew it wasn't the case. Toshinori's health could be rocky, but it was never a big immediate threat. He was always cautious whenever he had a coughing fit, making sure any blood that might be involved never landed on anyone besides himself. He also knew Toshinori had a thick skin and could shrug off whatever any kid said about him. So what was the hold up? Why didn't he want Toshinori at his school festival?

When he figured it out, he couldn't help but say the answer aloud.

"Because I don't trust you."

"What?" It was a confused tone by Toshinori, something he hadn't expected.

"It's- it's nothing. I just…" Izuku thought about playing it off but then something changed his mind. He saw the opportunity before him, and he took it.

"What are you keeping from us?" He asked, his voice trying its best to be firm.

Toshinori looked him in the eye, taking a moment to peer into his soul. Izuku was jumpy, but didn't flinch at the exchange. "What do you mean, my boy?"

"The secrets, about what your job in the government was and what you did when you lived in America. Why so many heroes have great respect for you. Why a salaryman seems to have so much money. I think… I think it's all connected. That there is a big part of your past you won't tell me or mom and we know it exists but...nothing else. So I don't trust you." Izuku powered through his speech, almost trembling in conviction. He focused his attention on the older man, looking him in the eye.

Toshinori flinched almost immediately. He looked to the ground and sighed. He didn't return his gaze back to Izuku, instead focusing in on the ground. It took a moment's contemplation, but he found his response. "I admire your honesty my boy, and have to commend you for your analysis. I don't think I could say anything to convince you I wasn't keeping any secrets. Which is fine, as I will admit I have withheld personal information about myself. Information about my past and other things."

He hadn't really expected such a frank admission to his theory, so all Izuku could do was nod along. Toshinori continued.

"I hope to relieve you of the worry that it is anything unsavory. I swear on my life it is not. It is something, however, this is deeply private and something I have never told anyone. Either they knew already or have remained in the dark."

"Is it… is it that serious?" Izuku couldn't help but ask. He believed Toshinori, at least as far as his background was extremely private. He hesitated to cast away all of his suspicions, however.

Toshinori finally looked to him and nodded. "Indeed, it is. But I have to face reality, that keeping my past a secret helps no one." He began to tap his knee with his fingers. "Can I ask of you a small favor? Can you leave the apartment for some time, perhaps half an hour or so? I want… I want to speak to your mother about these matters. I'm still hesitant to tell you, through no fault of your own, but I trust Inko with everything. So it is time to tell her everything. Is that alright?" He asked, his face appearing ernest.

Izuku began to look around. "Where is she, anyway? You said you had helped her with groceries."

Toshinori stood up and pointed to the bathroom. "She said she was going to the bathroom...a half hour ago. I believe Inko has lost track of time playing one of those mobile games." He added with a chuckle.

Izuku could believe it. He got his obsessive behavior from somewhere after all. He swallowed and looked to him. "Okay, I'll head to the store to get some sort a snack for later or something." Izuku went to put back on his shoes, before popping his head back into the hallway. "I'm sure my mom won't mind whatever it is you need to tell her. She does love you and stuff. And, as long as she can trust you, I will be able to trust you until you are ready to tell me about it." He added, nervously waiting for a response.

Toshinori just gave him a smile back. "Thank you for that vote of confidence, Izuku. It means alot to me." He heard the front door soon open and close meaning the exit of the youngest Midoriya. Keeping his smile, he began to breathe in and out slowly, walking towards the bathroom door. He had been keeping the secret of All Might for far too long. He knew that it could only really stay a secret until the first day of school at the absolute latest. There would probably be an announcement a few weeks beforehand. But enough was enough. To the woman he loved, he could tell her anything.

He rapped his knuckles against the door. "Inko, you do realize you can play the game in the living room."

He heard fumbling, a flush of the toilet, a run of the faucet, and finally Inko stumbling out with an embarrassed look on her face and the incriminating app still displayed on the smartphone screen. "I'm sorry, Yagi. I just lost track of time." She checked her phone's clock. "Oh my, Izuku should be home by now. Did he go straight to his room?" She looked around him in the direction of her son's room.

He shook his head. "No, no. He did stop in but he went to the store for a minute. He wanted to give me privacy because I need to tell you something."

Inko's eyes narrowed for a second before going wide and her mouth sputtering. "Y-Y-Yagi! It's, it's too soon! We haven't been together a year! You mean the world to me but I'm not ready for that just yet!"

Toshinori was confused. And stayed confused as his mind tried to process what Inko was inferring.

"I'm going to make a wild guess and presume you are thinking something different than I am." He eventually admitted defeat to figuring out her thought process.

Inko's fit slowed to a halt. "So you're not proposing?"

Toshinori went bright red. Marriage? He quickly tried to find the words that affirmed her belief and tried to calm himself down enough to tell her what he meant to say.

Later when Izuku asked about it, his mom stumbled over her words and got anxious, but assured him everything was fine. That she trusted him more than ever, and to give him time until he was ready to tell Izuku about it.

"I think it could be really fun if you came and helped us out." Izuku told him later in the week. "I know you would make the exhibit better, and I don't mind if my classmates meet you and stuff. You aren't embarrassing or anything."

Toshinori smiled. "Of course, young Midoriya."

Two weeks later, Toshinori proudly stood near the entrance and creeped out everyone that entered the haunted room exhibit. The straw may have been itchy and the clothes felt ridiculous, but helping people again felt good. Izuku's classmates also seemed to like him, even giving him the awkwardly affectionate nickname of Sunflower for his tall stature and blonde hair. People even took pictures of him, both adults and fellow students. He liked the classroom and school environment, and was anxious for next spring when he would finally get his own classroom and own students. It would be great.

Though he wasn't too sure about the recent decision by Principal Nedzu…

.

.

.

.

.

"Are you fucking serious? Why the hell do we have to live in dorms if we go to U.A?"

"That is an interesting bit of news. I wonder what brought this on."

"We get to live on campus! That would be so cool! But I wonder how Mom will think of this."

"Did you guys not see the best part! Co-freakin'-ed! Me and Shouji can share a room! Honeymoon suite!"

…..

I apologize this took so long. For starters, I threw out my first draft that was going to include a summer chapter (that would have the mentioned summer trip involved). For pacing purposes, I decided to skip to this beat. Secondly, I was getting over some B.S. at work that resolved itself. And finally, I have a addiction to Dungeon and Dragons that flared up again and took my attention away from writing fanfiction to instead writing character backstories.

Plus, my eternal struggle of creating a new story idea every other week that I want to start but tell myself I can't. On a side note, two story hooks are up for free usage!

Midoriya's quirk is called Fuel. Basically, Midoriya gets powers when he drinks alcohol. (They discover this when he accidentally swallowed mouthwash as a kid and his quirk flares up.) When drunk, he has a powerful telekinetic pull or push ability. Or he can use that alcohol in his body to breathe fire. Using one limits the other.

Tooru has her quirk removed and now must come to terms with being visible and quirkless as she fights for her dream of becoming a hero. Alot of possible pairing with this story.


End file.
